Howl at the Moon
by CarolinaGirl96
Summary: What if Sookie had been in a committed relationship before the vampires even heard of her. How could things be different? Obviously not a canon fic, but there will be some canon events thrown in. Hope you enjoy my first attempt at writing the supes.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

It had started out just like any other day of my life. I was rushing around, trying to find my keys… AGAIN. I was cursing myself for not actually using the rack Gran had gotten specifically for that reason.

I finally found them after retracing my steps… in the fridge? Really?

I went about my job, making sure everyone had whatever they needed. I was a waitress at Merlotte's, the only bar and grill we had in our small town. Well, the only _good_ one anyway. The other place in town was in trouble with DHEC… _often_. Yuck.

I liked my job, and it allowed me to help Gran with the house, even though she always fussed about it. My mind flashed back to our usual argument.

"That's your money, Sookie."

"I know, Gran, but I live here too and I'm gonna help whether you like it or not. You're too stubborn to let me help with the bills, so you'll just have to live with the repairs I'm able to get done."

She would always pull me into a hug – _every time _we had this conversation. "You're a good girl, Sookie. And it seems I'm not the only one around here who has a stubborn streak." I'd laugh as she winked at me. Gran was everything to me… my grandparent, parent, counselor, and best friend.

I was at the bar getting some drink orders taken care of when my older brother came in. It was late afternoon, so he must've just gotten off work. His buddies went over to a booth as Jason made his way to me.

"Hey, Sook." He leaned behind the bar to give me a quick hug. "How you doin'?"

"I'm just peachy, Jas… you?"

"Pretty good. We just finished up that road over by the sheriff's office early, so we're gonna unwind a little."

"That's great. You want a pitcher of the usual?"

"Yeah, sounds good." He turned to go to his friends, but stopped. "Oh, how's Gran?"

"She's stubborn as ever, which you would know if you came by more often." Jason just laughed and shook his head as I went to deliver the drinks.

I was back at the bar getting Jason's pitcher when my boss, Sam Merlotte, came out from the back. It was getting close to supper time, so business would start picking up and he usually worked the bar himself.

"Hey, Sook. How're things going out here?"

"Oh, fine. Not busy yet. Just gonna take this over to Jason."

He nodded as I headed towards my brother's booth.

'_Just look at her – she's real pretty… Jason'd kill me…I sure could have some fun with her…'_

When the images of the 'fun' Rene, was imagining he could have popped in my head, I shuddered. Ewwww! I took a deep breath, put my shields up and continued to the booth.

Did I mention I'm telepathic? Yeah, I can hear people's thoughts. It's more like a curse most of the time, but since starting at Merlotte's a few years ago, I'd been able to improve my shields a lot… I could keep the thoughts out a little easier. They just slip sometimes, especially when we weren't busy because I'm not as focused on keeping them up then. I was glad of Jason's reputation when it came to me at that moment. I'd never really liked Rene, so him figuring Jason would kill him was a good thing. He just creeped me out for some reason.

"Hey, Sook. Things been going good with you?" Now Jason's best friend, Hoyt, was about as sweet as they came. I'd known him so long, he was more like another big brother. He was a real sweetheart though; and would make some girl very happy one day.

"Everything's great, Hoyt. How 'bout you?"

"I'm doin' real good, Sook." I couldn't help but grin at him. I was just about the only girl in town who didn't make Hoyt as nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs. It really was too bad there was no interest from either of us in being more than friends. He'd be _**way**_ too scared of Jason and he's really easy for me to 'read' anyway.

That was actually a pretty big problem for me. Knowing _**everything**_ your date is thinking is just not a good thing. When I'm nervous, my shields aren't so great. Trying to keep them up while nervous… I ended up with a bitch of a headache every time I'd tried. So, I was very single.

Once I'd delivered the beer and gotten everyone settled, I wandered over to the bar, where Sam was making sure he was fully stocked for the night. Friday was usually one of our busiest nights, of course.

"So Sam, who all's working tonight? I forgot to look at the schedule."

"Ummm… Dawn and Arlene are in with you. Lafayette is cooking with Terry."

I nodded. It'd be the usual Friday night crew then. Guess I was just seeing if anything would be different. I went to make sure salt and pepper shakers were full, there were enough silverware rolls, etc. and got lost in my thoughts. I was slipping into 'lonely Sookie' mode and I hated that.

I was startled out of my thoughts when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I'd gone on autopilot and had everything done. I turned and saw Sam. "Penny for your thoughts."

I laughed. "Oh, it was nothing. Just fighting off a 'poor lonely me' pity party. I'm fine."

"Well, you know that could change anytime, right?"

Here we go again. "Sam," I took a deep breath. "You're my boss as well as one of my best friends. I'm just not comfortable with that, and you know it. Stop bringing it up, or I'm gonna have to make some changes that neither of us would be too happy about."

I went to walk around him, but he grabbed my arm. "Come on, Sook… we could be good together." _Wantwantwant… lustlustlust…_

Sam was generally really hard for me to read for some reason, but when I was touching somebody, things came in clearer. I was very glad that all I ever seemed to pick up from Sam were his feelings.

"Sam, you need to let go of me… _**now.**_" He looked at his hand on my arm and immediately let go.

"I'm so sorry, Sook. Really, I am."

"I know, Sam. Just give me a minute, ok?"

He nodded and went back to the bar.

I was double checking, even though I knew everything was done… just buying myself some time to compose myself, when I felt an arm go around my shoulder and I jumped.

"Sorry, Sis. You ok?"

"Damn, Jason! Thanks for the heart attack. Yes, I'm fine."

"I heard Sam and saw him grab you. I set him straight about it."

"Oh god Jason, what did you do?"

"I just told him he needed to stop following you around like a lost puppy. You just ain't interested and he needs to back off before I make him."

I love my brother, really I do, but sometimes…

"And before you get your panties in a knot, he apologized and agreed with me. He said he'd back off. You're welcome." He had a smug smile on his face.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little. "So big brother saves the day, huh?"

"Just doin' my job." He winked at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, Jas. I love you, but you really are a pain in the ass."

He laughed. "I love you too, Sis. We're gonna head out, but we'll probably be back in later on. You closin'?"

"Nope, I'm off at 10."

"K- see ya." He kissed my head and went on his way. I went to check on Sam.

"You ok? I'm sorry about Jason. He's just a little overprotective of me."

Sam chuckled. "If he's a little overprotective now, I really feel sorry for the guy who ever hurts you. I'm sorry, Sook. We ok?"

"Yeah, we're good." I smiled at him and things went back to normal. I hoped it had sunk into his head since Jason had gotten involved. Before long, I saw Dawn and Arlene coming in and heard Lafayette in the back.

The night was going like any other Friday night. Even though I wasn't closing, I was still making good tips. They were always better at night anyway.

I was taking an order to the kitchen when Dawn went by me. "Hey, Sook… the Ratts just got here." I groaned as she nodded her agreement. We turned to see the trashiest couple in Bon Temps coming in. And believe me, it's really saying something to say they are the trashiest around _here_. We both breathed a sigh of relief when they sat down at a booth in Arlene's section. I was never happier to see someone not choose a free table in my section. But then Dawn groaned.

"Well, now Arlene's stuck with 'em. That'll do wonders for her mood." Arlene had been nothing but sour grapes since her boyfriend dumped her. We all knew she'd be back to her old self once she'd found the next 'love of her life'. I was just glad I wasn't stuck with the Ratts.

Dawn went to check on her tables as I heard, "Mmmm, Sook… bow chicka wow wow." I turned and saw Lafayette in the kitchen window.

"What's up, Lafayette?"

"You're looking pretty scrumptious tonight. Any particular reason, hmmmm?"

"I'm just wearing a little eye makeup, Lafayette. I get better tips when I do."

"Well, I thought yous was trying to impress somebody. The night's still young though." He winked and did a little dance before he went back to the grill.

I laughed, "You're incorrigible, Lafayette!"

I made my way out front with plates for one of my tables. I heard the door open as I was delivering them. When I looked up, I couldn't stop my gasp. There was a group of 7 or 8 men and I didn't recognize any of them, but my jaw hit the floor when the last one came in.

They looked like they might be construction workers… with their muscles and tans, it would definitely make sense. They were all pretty big, but this guy was huge. The uniform was jeans and Ts with work boots, and Oh. My. God how nicely he filled those jeans ... he could be the king of levis though... damn! He had wavy black hair that looked like he had trouble taming and the most gorgeous eyes I'd ever seen.

We were pretty busy right then… in fact, the only tables open were booths… one in Dawn's section and the other in mine. They split up, and the one who had caught my eye was heading over to my section. I did an inner happy dance.

I noticed Arlene pouting by the bar as I made my way over to the new customers. She must have been bummed because they weren't in her section and she was stuck with the Ratts… who chose that moment to bellow for her.

"Evening y'all. Welcome to Merlotte's. Can I get you something to drink?" I smiled as I handed them menus.

"Well, hey sweet thang. You look good. How 'bout I take you?" _Seriously?_

"Well, it's a real shame I'm not on that menu, isn't it." _Was this guy for real?_ I took a deep breath and noticed my guy giving him the evil eye. _Wait… my guy? Where did that come from? I think I'll stick with 'King Levis' for now._ "Now, what can I getcha to drink?"

Beers were ordered all around. "I'll be right back with those." I flashed a big smile and headed to the bar to get the beers. I heard some loud laughter and noticed it was coming from the booth I'd just left. One of the guys patted King Levis on the shoulder.

"Here ya go." I handed out the beers once I'd returned to the booth. When I was giving King Levis his, his fingers grazed mine and I swear, I tingled. "Y'all ready to order?"

"I think we're ready." A different one spoke up this time. The others nodded and various burgers with fries were ordered by everybody.

I was collecting the menus when the obnoxious one from earlier decided to try again. "Hey… Sookie? Really?" He'd read my name tag. "Anyway, we're new in town… is this the only place to eat around here?"

"Yep, pretty much anyway. There is another place, on the other side of town, but they aren't very good from what I hear. What brings y'all to Bon Temps?"

The King of Levis finally spoke up. "Work. We're working on the new library. We're outta Shreveport."

I could only nod for a second. Then I finally regained my focus. His voice was gruff, but _oh so sexy_. He had a scruffy beard and when he smiled at me, I melted a little.

Then the pathetic one with the stupid lines spoke up again. "Look, Sookie… I'm sorry about earlier. It really was a stupid line."

"All's forgiven as long as you promise to never use it again. It really was dreadful."

"Done." He smiled at me and glanced over at King Levis. I decided to think on what that meant later. I took their orders to the kitchen and turned to go check on my other tables. As I went by their table, I noticed some of them needed refills already. I knew from dealing with Jason that they were going to be really thirsty.

"Hey guys, would you like me to bring you a pitcher? I'm sure you're pretty thirsty after working outside all day."

"That'd be great."

"Fuck yeah."

"Awesome."

"Thank you." I smiled at their responses and hurried to get their pitcher. I was trying to think of a way to find out a little more about my guy without seeming obvious… like was he single? I didn't see how it would be possible for a guy like him to actually be single, but I could hope…

"Here you go…" I refilled the ones who needed it and set the pitcher down. "So, how long do you think the new library will take? I have to admit to being pretty excited about it… we've needed a new one for a really long time."

"Well, we're just getting started. Depends on the weather cooperating... A few months at least."

"Ok. Then I guess I might be seeing y'all around a while then." I grinned at King Levis and was thrilled to see him nodding at me with a grin of his own. "I'll be right back with your food."

I checked all of my other tables and the kitchen to see I didn't have any orders up before I ducked into the restroom. My thoughts kept going back to the stranger who had definitely sparked my interest, so I was caught completely offguard when I found myself cornered by Mac Rattray. I had just walked out of the restroom when I heard him.

"Well, what do we have here?"

'_Sure like to see how 'crazy' Sookie can really get...'_

I was hit with images that seriously turned my stomach. "Hey, Mac. Hope y'all are having a good evening. I better get back to work." I tried to get past him, but he blocked me and I wound up backed against the wall.

"Outta my way, Mac. Get back to Denise." I hated being cornered like that. It made me extra nervous.

"Awww, don't be like that, Sookie. I bet we could have a lot of fun together." He pushed himself up against me and smelled my neck. I could smell the alcohol all over him, mixed with who knows what else, so I knew he was pretty drunk at minimum, but I didn't care.

Everything that happened next was a blur.

I brought my knee up... HARD. "LET. ME. GO!" My aim was spot on too. I caught Mac in the groin, but before he could crumple to the floor, he was pinned against the wall by a large arm. He had tears streaming down his face as he demanded to be let go. I looked up and saw my guy's face... And boy was he angry.

"I believe the lady asked you to get out of her way. Are you hearing impaired?"

Mac refused to answer. Instead, he looked at me. "You bitch! You're gonna pay for that!"

Mac got shoved into the wall harder. "Huh… I guess you're just stupid then."

Sam appeared at that moment. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Sam! Get this guy off me!"

"Sam, Mac was... being very... inappropriate with me and this man is helping me. But I did knee Mac when he wouldn't back off. Now, I'm gonna wash up and get back to work." I walked away, deciding to let the men work it out. I washed my hands and started delivering my orders and making sure my customers were happy.

I made one more run by the kitchen to find I was caught up for the moment, but as I turned, I ran into a wall that I knew wasn't supposed to be there. I felt 2 strong arms go around me to keep me from falling. I looked up, and up some more and saw those gorgeous eyes again. He was so warm it was like I was being saved by a blanket..

"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you were there." I was a little sad when he removed his arms from around me.

"No harm done." He smiled at me, "I wanted to talk to you, but without the peanut gallery." He nodded towards his friends. "I didn't mean to practically tackle you." He chuckled, but he seemed a little nervous for some reason. He ran his hand through his thick hair.

"Ok, is everything alright?" I saw Mac huff back to Denise and they left in a hurry. Sam headed back behind the bar, but not before shooting a look towards us.

"Oh yeah, everything's fine. Uh…" He _was_ nervous. I suddenly realized I hadn't tried to 'read' him or his friends. I always checked out new people. I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. I'd been too distracted. So, I lowered my shields a little while focusing on the man in front of me.

I was shocked. I couldn't pick up much at all. What I did get was… red… even snarly, but no clear thoughts. It reminded me a little bit of how Sam was when I tried reading him. I couldn't help myself… I touched his arm to see if it helped any.

I could tell he was definitely nervous… I realized I was picking up on his mood, but his thoughts were still unclear. He looked at my hand on his arm and I thought he didn't want it there, so I started to remove it. He grabbed my hand and I was surprised by how warm his was.

"You aren't going to get in any trouble for helping me, are you? I didn't get to thank you for doing that either… so, thank you."

"No, I'm not going to get in any trouble… you're the one who did the damage anyway. And I'm glad I could help." He winked at me before continuing, "Sookie, I'm usually not this forward, but since I'm not usually around here that much either, I'm just gonna go for it. I'd really like it if we could get to know each other." His other hand was going through his hair again. He was just as adorable as he was drop dead sexy. It didn't take long at all for me to give my answer. He was really hard for me to read, and he seemed so sweet. I figured what the hell.

"I think I'd like that, but it would help if I knew your name too."

He chuckled, "I'm Alcide." We were wearing matching grins now.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Alcide."

"So, when are you free? I'd like to take you out. Would you go out with me, Sookie?"

I was just about to tell him I was free the next night, when Sam had to ruin my little moment with Alcide. "Sookie – you need to get back to work… _**now**_." I looked at him, very confused. All my tables were fine and he'd never spoken to me that way. He was shooting daggers at Alcide… just great.

"I'm really sorry, Alcide, but I guess I should get back to work." I figured I'd deal with Sam later.

Alcide nodded. "Sure, I don't want to get you into trouble. Can I get your number before I leave though?" I nodded as I heard Lafayette holler "order up!"

A big grin spread across Alcide's face. "Ok, I'll get back with you before we leave." I nodded again and he went back to his friends.

I didn't think it would be, but I made sure the order wasn't for one of my tables, and it wasn't. So, I checked on everyone again.

The next "Order up!" was for Alcide's table. I couldn't help grinning at him as I delivered their burgers and was rewarded with a big grin from him in return. I'd never been this excited about a date before… maybe my luck was finally changing…

I was standing by the bar, lost in my thoughts, when I heard someone come up behind me, "Hey, Sook."

I jumped and jerked my head around. "Jason Stackhouse! Are you trying to kill me? That's twice in one night!"

He laughed as he raised his hands in the 'I surrender' motion. "I thought you heard me come in, Sis. I swear! What's with the goofy grin?"

Yeah, I had been thinking about Alcide… I guess it showed more than I'd realized. "Nothing. It's close to time for me to be getting off." I lied, but Jason bought it and went back to whatever, or whoever, he was up to that night.

Sam had been acting weird ever since he'd seen me talking with Alcide, but I couldn't find it in me to care in that moment. I couldn't help that I didn't feel the way he wanted me to about him. I really hoped he would stop acting this way soon. My shift was finally over and Alcide was still around, which made me very excited…

I practically skipped to the office to clock out and grab my stuff. I decided I should tell Jason 'bye', so I headed back to the dining room… yeah, sounded good to me.

When I got back, I saw Alcide's friends who'd been in Dawn's section were gone. I jerked my head over towards Alcide's table and was relieved to see them there. They were getting ready to go though. It looked like they were giving Alcide a hard time about something, but he didn't seem to mind.

One of his friends noticed me and I heard him say "Well, guess we'll head out Alc, See ya tomorrow," as he nodded towards me.

Alcide turned and smiled when he saw me. He got up and made his way over to where I was. "You getting off already?"

"Yeah, I worked the afternoon/evening shift today."

"Ah, gotcha. Well, would you mind if I walked out with you then?" I shook my head and took the arm he was offering. _Jason who?_

"Sook… who's this?" Jason just suddenly appeared… great.

"This is Alcide. And before you ask a bunch of questions, we just met tonight. Alcide, this is my brother, Jason."

"Nice to meet you." Alcide stuck his hand out. Jason eyed him for a moment before finally shaking it.

"You hurt her, you'll answer to me… got it?"

Alcide looked him right in the eye as I wanted to go crawl in a hole somewhere. "Got it… but hurting Sookie is something I won't do."

"Ok… just so we're clear." They nodded at each other.

Whoa… he didn't back down from Jason… that was a first. But, he was respectful to him as my brother. Jason seemed pacified and we headed to the parking lot.

"This is me." I said as we reached my car. It definitely wasn't much to brag about, but it got me from point A to point B… most of the time, anyway.

I opened the door and threw my purse in. Then I turned back to face Alcide. "I'm sorry about Jason. He's always been overprotective of me."

"I don't mind. Shows he's a good brother. I'm the same way with my baby sister. We joke that's why she moved to Mississippi – so I couldn't scare the guys away from her anymore."

"Oh great. There's two of y'all?" I was trying not to giggle.

Alcide chuckled. "I guess there are, but I don't think your brother will be apologizing any sooner than I will be to my sister."

"Oh no, he definitely won't be doing that. He's like the rest of our family… too stubborn for his own good sometimes."

"Do you have that stubborn streak in you too?"

"Yep… sure do."

"Good to know." He gave me a smile and winked.

I was really enjoying talking to him, but I was also completely exhausted from working the long shift and keeping my shields up. I was starting to get a headache.

As if he read my mind, "Well, I better let you go. I bet you're worn out and I got the drive back to Shreveport ahead of me. Can I get your number?" I smiled and nodded. He stored it in his phone as I gave it to him.

"I look forward to getting to know you better, Sookie."

"Me too, Alcide. Getting to know you I mean. But, I do need to go before I collapse."

He kissed my hand, then held my door open for me to get in my car. "Sookie?"

"Yeah?"

"When are you off next?"

"Ummm… tomorrow, actually."

"Can I see you?"

I knew my goofy grin had to be back. "I'd like that, Alcide."

His smile lit up his whole face and he said he'd see me tomorrow. I was on cloud nine as I made my way home that night.

As my old car bumped and bounced up the driveway, the cool night air gave me a chill. Alcide's big warm arms would have definitely come in handy… Then I just shook my head at how I was reacting to this man I barely knew at all.

I walked in the back door, made sure I hung up my keys, and headed to the kitchen. I knew Gran was waiting up for me to get in, just like she always does.

"Did you have a good evening, dear?" Gran asked as I bent to kiss her cheek.

"It was really good… super busy, but good." I knew she was going to notice the grin I couldn't get rid of to save my life.

"Really? Well, what has you in such a good mood?" She gave me a knowing smirk.

"I met somebody tonight."

"A man I'm guessing?"

That's all it took. It was like she'd opened the flood gates with that one question. I spilled my guts – everything about my encounter with Alcide came tumbling out of my mouth. Once I was finished, Gran was smiling at me.

"Did I hear you correctly… you can't 'hear' him?"

"Well, I could pick up on his mood, but his thoughts weren't clear. Almost a buzzing energy… it seemed 'red', kinda like Sam."

Gran stood up and kissed my cheek. "Well, I think that would be a good thing for you. I'm heading to bed, sweetheart. Good night."

"Good night, Gran. Sweet dreams."

I grabbed a glass of water and headed to my bedroom too. I took a quick shower just to get the greasy smells off of me because I just couldn't sleep smelling like that.

As I got settled into bed and began drifting off, I smiled as I thought about Alcide again… looked like I'd be having sweet dreams myself.

**A/N: I am so excited to be posting again. I hope you like it. I'm posting on my wp page more often now. In fact, chapter 2 of this one is already up over there. If you want to check it out, go to www . carolinagirl96. wordpress . com (take the spaces out, of course.) I know I'll be posting there more often than here, so you can subscribe to that site to receive alerts if you'd like. :)**

**I have to give big thank yous to Ericizmine and MellyKen for helping me get this thing presentable. They are awesome!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

I stretched as I woke up the next morning… you know, one of those awesome stretches you do after a really good night's sleep. And boy, had I had a good night's sleep. I knew I was tired from work, but my dreams made it even better.

I hadn't realized how late it was. I'm usually a pretty early riser. My room was flooded with sunshine and I got very excited. I knew I would be working on my tan today. Sunbathing is one of my few vices. The other one was coffee, which as I sniffed; I could smell it brewing in the kitchen. I got my morning needs taken care of, and then made my way to the kitchen.

"Morning, Gran." I bounced into the room and kissed her on the cheek. She had a mug of coffee waiting on me. She knew me so well.

"Good morning, dear. I take it you slept well." She had that damn smirk on her face again. I'll never understand how she does it… seriously.

"I did, how about you?"

"Oh, fine. So, what are your plans… you're off today, right?"

"Yes Ma'am, I'm off today. I thought I would work on my tan for a while since it's so nice out. I need to run a few errands too. No big plans." Yes, I was hoping to hear from Alcide, but who knew if that would happen. "How about you?"

"I'm going to my meeting then to lunch with Maxine. We may do a small bit of shopping too."

"Ok, sounds like fun." I happily took one of Gran's homemade cinnamon rolls over to join her at the table. "How are the meetings going these days? Any trips planned soon?"

"Oh, I still enjoy them. No, we don't have any trips planned soon. Maybe in the fall. We're thinking of going to South Carolina. After all, it would be very exciting to see the place the war started. We just haven't managed to get a trip set up." Gran was a member of the 'Descendants of the Glorious Dead'; a group that studied the Civil War in nauseating detail and they enjoyed going to visit battle sites and other important landmarks of the time. I knew going to South Carolina, more specifically Fort Sumter, would be a really big deal to Gran and the other members.

"That sounds great, Gran. I hope it works out for y'all to take the trip."

"I do too, dear. Now, I need to get going on these dishes then be on my way."

I stood to block her. "No, I'll take care of them, Gran. You go get ready for your day."

"Well, thank you, Sookie. Maxine is due to be here soon." I hugged her and assured her I didn't mind. I had an ulterior motive anyway.

Once I heard a car coming up the driveway and Gran told me bye, I knew I was in the clear. I went to my room, dug the shopping bags from under my bed and went to redecorate the kitchen. Our stuff was really old and had gotten 'dingy' looking. No amount of washing helped at this point, so Gran and I had talked one night about how we could redecorate it. We'd decided that sunflowers would be nice, but would have to wait for a while. I had repainted the room a few months back and bought the new décor, but had not had the chance to put it up. I really wanted to surprise Gran with it but the timing hadn't worked out until now. She of course thought the paint was "more than enough", but I really enjoyed doing things like this for her.

About a half hour later, I was finished. The new curtains looked great. I made sure to get the nice rugs that were supposed to help Gran's feet and back not hurt so much. I knew a rug wouldn't cure her aches and pains, but I really hoped they would at least help a little. I got a few towels and new placemats too. I finished it off with an arrangement of fake sunflowers that I put in the center of the table. It wasn't much, but it sure did make the room look different. I just hoped Gran liked it as much as I did.

It was about 10:30 by then, so I decided that I would go ahead and run my errands, stop for lunch at Merlotte's, then come back and spend my afternoon in the sun. I know it's sad that I was going to have lunch at Merlotte's on my day off, but I'd been honest with that guy the night before…Merlotte's was just about the only place to eat around here… definitely the only good place. Besides… I had a serious craving for a 'Burger Lafayette'.

I ran up to my room, threw on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top, pulled my hair up into a high pony tail, and slid my feet into my favorite flip flops.

I went by the library to return my books and get some new ones for my afternoon sunbathing. Then I stopped by the bank and the post office. I was pulling into Merlotte's parking lot by 11:30… just before the lunch crowd would be hitting.

"Hey, Sook… couldn't stay away?" Sam laughed as he greeted me. I returned the smile.

"Happens when you work at the only decent place to eat around here." Sam chuckled and nodded.

"Well, take your pick. The crowd will be here soon." I went to a booth in Holly's section and even though I knew it by heart, I pulled out a lunch menu and began looking over it.

"Hey, Sook. What can I get ya?"

"Hey, Holly. I think I'll take a Burger Lafayette, ½ and ½, and a sweet tea. Thanks." I smiled at her.

"No problem… be right back with your tea." I loved that I was treated like a customer by Holly. If it'd been Arlene, she'd have told me to just get everything myself.

I had picked up a real estate booklet and began flipping pages to pass the time. I was startled when I picked up some red, snarly thoughts. Nothing clear, so I looked up, expecting to see Sam, but was very pleasantly surprised to find Alcide coming in the door.

I couldn't stop the grin I felt taking over my whole face as he saw me. He smiled too and came over to my table.

"Ok, I know I saw you leave here last night."

I laughed, "Yes, you sure did. I decided I was a little too lazy to fix my own lunch today and I told y'all last night that this is the only good place to eat in town."

"That you did. Mind if I join you, or have you already eaten?" I loved his smile a little too much.

"Oh no, I just ordered a few minutes ago. Have a seat."

Holly saw him sit down, so she came over to get his drink order. He was sticking to sweet tea today. "So, what brings you back in here today, Alcide?"

"Well, I was taking your advice. I'm working in town again. I didn't want to take my chances with the other place you mentioned like my guys did, so I came here instead. I'm really glad I did too." He winked at me and I melted a little. Course, I was doing my own inner happy dance over his choice as well.

Holly came back with his tea and my order at that moment. She turned to take Alcide's order and he looked at my plate. "What's that you have? It looks great."

I smiled. "A Burger Lafayette, ½ and ½."

"Ok, I remember reading about the burger and thought it sounded pretty good last night. But what the hell is ½ and ½?"

I giggled, "Restaurant lingo… means an order of ½ fries and ½ onion rings."

He smiled and turned to Holly, "Sounds great, I'll have what she's having." Holly smiled and turned to go put his order in.

"I didn't know you could get both of them… smart idea."

"Oh yeah, that way, you get the best of both worlds. Choosing between them can be so hard sometimes." I was still giggling.

"I would have to agree with you there." Seriously… his smile.

We sat in comfortable silence for a minute while I ate an onion ring and he started on his tea.

"So, I know you have a younger sister, any other siblings?"

Holly showed up with Alcide's order as I asked my question. Once he had his food, I didn't feel weird about eating in front of him anymore. "Nope, just me and my sister, Janice. How 'bout you… any siblings other than Jason?"

"Lord no… he's enough of a headache for me." Both of us laughed.

"So, you like working here? It seems like a nice enough place."

"I do like it. Jobs are hard to find these days, and it lets me help my Gran out with the house."

"So, you live with your Gran? How'd that happen?"

"Well, my parents were killed in a car accident when I was 7. After that, Gran took me and Jason in and cared for us. Jason moved into our parents' house as soon as he was 18. I decided to stay on with Gran."

"Shit, I'm sorry, Sookie. I didn't mean to bring up something like that."

"No problem. You didn't know, and it was a long time ago. I can't imagine my life being any different. I love Gran… she's more than just my grandmother ya know. She's my best friend too."

"It's great you are so close to her. I'm not that close to my parents."

"Do they live in Shreveport?"

"Yeah, they do. But, I'm real close to my sister. Truth is, I was pretty unhappy when she decided to move to Mississippi. Thankfully, Jackson isn't too far from here, and since the company has an office there too, I still get to see her a good bit."

"I just realized I never asked… which company do you work for?"

"Herveaux and Son."

"Oh, I've heard of them. They're a pretty well known company around here."

"Yeah, I guess so." He seemed a little off to me… like he didn't like where this conversation was heading. But before I could ask, he moved things along. "So, how long have you worked here?"

"About 3 years. I know it's not much, but I like it."

"Hey, if you're happy, that's all that matters." I grinned.

Talking to Alcide was so easy. I'd never felt this comfortable with anyone before. I let down my shields a few times just to see what it would be like around him without them. I didn't pick up much beyond what I could only describe as a 'red energy' and I had to really be trying to hear him to get that. I could pick up his general mood… but no thoughts. I was so excited. It was looking like I might actually be able to be around him and not wear myself out keeping my shields up. I had only dreamed this would be possible for me one day.

I had been so focused on my conversation and thoughts about Alcide, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard, "Well, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't know you had lunch plans too, Sookie."

"Oh, Gran! I didn't see you come in. I didn't have 'plans', I just decided to grab some lunch after I finished my errands. Oh, I'd like you to meet Alcide. Alcide, this is my Gran, Adele Stackhouse."

Alcide stood and put his hand out for Gran. "So nice to meet you, Ms. Stackhouse."

"Well, you certainly are a 'hunk' aren't you?" Alcide was actually blushing as Gran flirted a little… it was too cute. I couldn't stop myself from giggling.

She chuckled as she looked at his hand before pulling him into a hug. "My dear boy – anyone who makes my granddaughter smile like that gets more than a handshake from me. And call me Gran, or Adele, no need to be so formal."

He hugged her back. "Thank you, Adele. Would you like to join us?"

"Oh no… I just wanted to say hello. I do have lunch plans today. Nice to meet you, Alcide. I hope to see you again very soon." She winked at us, then made her way over to Maxine.

I couldn't contain my laughter anymore as we sat back down. Alcide's face was a cross between flabbergasted and amused.

"Is she always like that?"

"Pretty much. I'm sorry if she embarrassed you." I was still giggling.

"Who's embarrassed? She's _awesome_, Sookie! I can see why y'all are so close."

"She is absolutely _awesome_." I was nodding my agreement. "She always tells me 'you're as young as you feel' and she is one feisty lady. I don't know what I'd do without her."

Alcide chuckled, "Feisty – that's a good word to describe her." He was smiling at me.

"I'm glad y'all got to meet. She means everything to me and I really like…" I turned bright red the second I realized I was about to tell Alcide how much I really liked him… oh my gosh – I couldn't do that… not yet anyway.

But Alcide just took my small hand in his huge ones. "Don't do that, Sookie. If it helps… I really like you too. I can't explain it… it just feels like I know you." I let out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding and smiled my biggest smile at him.

We were finishing up our lunch when I excused myself to go to the restroom. When I got back to the table, I couldn't find my ticket anywhere.

"Lose something?" Alcide must've gone to the restroom as well.

"Just my ticket… I'll just tell Sam what I had." I turned to go to the bar, but Alcide grabbed my hand, stopping me.

"Don't worry about it, Sookie… I already took care of it."

"Why did you do that, Alcide? You didn't have to… I can take care of myself." The last thing I wanted was for him to think I was the kind of girl who just wanted a meal ticket.

"It's not a problem, Sookie… I wanted to do it."

"But this wasn't a date or anything… I didn't expect that from you." God, he was so sweet that my sensibilities couldn't help but be too flattered to argue over going Dutch.

"Sookie, this might not have been an official date, but I really enjoyed myself. I do still plan on taking you on a date though."

My inner happy dance was threatening to take control of my body as I said, "I'd like that very much, Alcide."

"Great! Look, as much as I hate it, I do need to be getting back to work. Can I call you later?"

"Sure, I'll be around. My plans are very simple for the rest of the day… work on my tan, then veg out with a movie or a book tonight."

He smiled again, as he moved closer to me. "Then I'll talk to you later, for sure."

He bent down a little and pulled me into a hug. My arms found their way around his neck, completely on their own it seemed. I felt so small, but very safe in his large arms. He placed a kiss on my forehead and I let out a contented sigh. He used one hand to tilt my chin up, so that I was looking at him. "I don't want to let you go, Sookie."

"I know what you mean."

I was getting lost in his eyes and noticed he was getting even closer to me. I tilted my face just a little, waiting for what I so hoped was about to happen when I heard someone clearing their throat behind me.

"Sookie, here's your purse. You left it at the table."

I turned a little, but was still in Alcide's arms, and saw Sam. He looked extremely pissed… well, he wasn't the only one.

"Thanks, Sam." I took the purse from him as he shot daggers at Alcide, who still hadn't let go of me… I wasn't complaining either. Sam just stood there… looking pissed.

"I'm sure you have customers waiting, _Sam_." Alcide broke the silence… and wow, I liked 'take charge' Alcide.

"You ok, Sook?" Sam was just being a pain in the ass at this point.

"I _**was**_ doing great, Sam. See ya tomorrow." He had no reason to stay outside with us. He almost growled as he turned and went back inside.

"Well, that was fun."

I turned back to face Alcide. "I'm so sorry about that. I don't know what he thought he was doing."

"Don't be sorry – it's not your fault he was being a jack-ass. Besides… I can handle him." He winked at me and I melted.

"So, I really do need to be getting back now. I'll call you later ok?"

"Sounds good. Hope the rest of your day goes well."

"It won't be able to top lunch. Thanks for letting me join you."

"I enjoyed it too, Alcide." I didn't want him to go, but I knew he had to. He opened my car door for me, but before I could get in, he hugged me again. I was beginning to _really_ like being in his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder for a moment, then pulled away.

"You have to get back to work, Alcide… now scoot!" We both started laughing and I got in my car. Watching him walk to his truck was very enjoyable because I discovered that he had a very nice butt. I giggled at myself as I headed back home.

Lunch had taken longer than I had planned, but I definitely didn't mind. I still had plenty of time left to work on my tan. I let myself in the back door… took a moment to look over the newly decorated kitchen once more, then bounded up the stairs to my room. I pulled out my favorite bikini. It was white with red polka dots. I put it on, grabbed my book and a towel, then headed to the back yard and got comfortable in my lounge chair.

"Sookie… Wake up dear… I don't want you to burn."

I rubbed my eyes and as things came into focus, I saw Gran.

"Oh, hey, Gran. When did you get home?"

"A little while ago. How long have you been out here?"

"I'm not sure about the time, but I came out as soon as I got changed after lunch."

"Then you should definitely turn over, dear. It's been about an hour and a half since I saw you leaving Merlotte's."

Whew, I was so glad Gran had gotten home when she did. I love to tan, but hate sunburn. You're so miserable and uncomfortable. So, I got myself turned over as I saw Gran pulling up one of the other regular chairs. She was so going to ask me about Alcide.

"I enjoyed meeting your young man today, Sookie. He seems very nice."

"Oh, he is, Gran. I was so glad we had a chance to spend a little time together today."

"Do you plan to see him again?"

"I sure hope so! He said he was going to call later."

"That's wonderful, dear. I like seeing you smile like this. You have had to deal with so much during your short life. I'm so glad you are excited about something for a change."

"I like Alcide, Gran… a LOT. Is it crazy that I like him so much after such a short amount of time?"

"No, not at all. Everyone is different, Sookie. You know this better than most people. Some people take a very long time before they let themselves admit their feelings. Others realize how they feel very quickly. I think you fit in with the later group. And if I had to guess, Alcide does as well. I could tell he likes you too."

I was beaming. "I don't know what you saw after we left the restaurant, but he hugged me while we were saying goodbye. I didn't hear him at all, Gran. You know how when I touch people, their thoughts come in clearer?" She nodded. "Even when he hugged me, that didn't happen. I'm not complaining, but I wonder why."

"I can't answer that for you, Sookie. We don't know enough about what you can do to figure something like that out. But, I would have to agree with you, don't complain. You being able to find happiness like this is well worth not having all the answers."

I nodded and realized she was right. Who cared why I couldn't hear Alcide… I was just so glad that I couldn't.

I laid on my stomach for an hour or so before I decided it was time for me to go in. I also realized that when I had spoken to Gran earlier, she hadn't been in the house yet. I wanted to see what she thought about the kitchen.

I walked in the house and heard her in the kitchen. I figured she was getting ready to start supper. I stopped in the doorway and just watched her for a second. She was moving around like nothing was new, but I noticed her fingering the new curtains… rubbing her foot on one of the rugs…

"Do you like it?"

"Oh my stars, Sookie! Now you're the one startling me. I do like it, very much. But I wish you wouldn't spend your money on stuff like this."

I let out a deep sigh. "Gran, we've been over this more times than I care to remember. I live here too. I want to help out with the bills, but you refuse to let me. So, I **will** continue to fix the place up. I can't do everything at once, but I will do what I can. And while we're on this subject, I will let you know that I have almost saved up enough money to get the driveway redone soon."

Gran sighed too. "Sookie, you definitely have that Stackhouse stubborn streak running through your veins. I want you to save your money so that you can do whatever it is you decide to do with your life. You don't have to worry about me and this house."

"I see it differently, Gran. I want to help because it's the right thing to do. You are on a fixed income and I want to make life easier for you when I can. Besides, I love this house. Now, let's stop this. It's getting a little old… we have this argument way too often."

She walked over to me and wrapped me up in a hug. "You are a good girl, Sookie. I'll agree that we have this argument too often. Just promise me that all of your money doesn't go back into this house. You're young. You need to have your life too."

"I promise, Gran. Why do you think it's taken me so long to save for the driveway? And I'm not there yet… just getting close."

"Alright. Why don't you go shower while I start supper?"

"Good idea. I'll be back in a bit to give you a hand." I kissed her on the cheek, and bounced up the stairs to get myself cleaned up.

**A/N: I hope you liked it. So sorry I haven't posted this sooner, but FF has been having lots of issues! Chapter 3 will hopefully be going up on my wordpress site this week, so if you want to sign up for alerts there, please do. :) It's www(dot)carolinagirl96(dot)wordpress(dot)com **

**And please let me know what you think!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: *Peeks in...* I am so sorry this update has taken so long. All I can say is real life has been insanely crazy. I'm healing from surgery now, so hopefully will be able to get some writing done while I have the down time.**

**I have to thank MellyKen and Inlovewitheric for all their help with the chapter and for being awesome friends! **

**Let me know what you think. :)  
**

Chapter 3:

I was humming to myself as I made my way back to the kitchen. I always felt great after a day in the sun. When I entered, I noticed Gran pulling chicken out of the fridge and her skillet was on the stove. _'Oh… fried chicken tonight!'_ I loved Gran's fried chicken, and so did everyone who'd ever tasted it. It was the absolute best.

"Sookie, I'm sorry, dear. I sat down for a moment and must've dozed off. Supper will be ready very soon." I'd noticed Gran was 'dozing off' more often these days and I had to fight off the sadness I felt creeping in.

"No problem, Gran. I can help you get it together now, so it worked out great. What are we having with the chicken?"

"I thought corn-on-the-cobb would be nice, and we haven't had your baked beans in a while…" My baked beans were something I was very proud of. Gran loved them and it made me feel so special when she'd request them.

"Ok, sounds great. I'll get the meat ready and shuck the corn."

"I'll take care of the meat since I'll be at the stove anyway. It'll be ready when you finish with the corn."

I nodded and headed for the back porch to start shucking corn. I wondered why Gran had so many ears when it was just the two of us, but she usually fixed more than we needed so there would be leftovers. I really appreciated that too… those leftovers were life savers when I worked a long shift. As much as I loved the food at Merlotte's, eating too much of it just didn't agree with me.

I also knew that she hoped Jason would stop by to enjoy the leftovers, but she'd never admit that. I was going to have to jerk a knot in him _**very**_ soon if he didn't get his ass here for a visit. By the time I'd finished with the corn, I'd decided to go ahead and call him later and just tell him that he'd better get over here tomorrow if he knew what was good for him. I loved my brother very much… he just didn't use his head too often.

Supper was great. It had been a while since we'd had so much food. Gran had even made biscuits. I told her that I'd handle clean up, so she went to the living room and before long, I heard the undeniable sounds of 'Jeopardy'. That was Gran's favorite show, and you definitely didn't bother her when it was on.

I was just finishing up the last dish when the phone rang. I didn't want to disturb Gran, so I stayed in the kitchen.

"Hello."

"Sookie?"

"Yes, this is Sookie."

"Hey Sookie, it's Alcide. I'm not interrupting your dinner, am I?"

"Oh no, we just finished up a few minutes ago. How was the rest of your day?"

"Ugh." He let out a sigh. "Long. I was hoping to call you sooner, but I got held up at work. I'm just leaving actually. Looks like it's take out for me again." He chuckled, but I got the impression that it wasn't a happy one. That didn't sit well with me. Then I had a great idea and I knew Gran wouldn't mind.

"Yuck, Alcide. Do you end up eating a lot of take out?"

"Eh, comes with the territory."

"Hmmm… are you still in Bon Temps?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I just hate the idea of you eating take out when you had Merlotte's earlier today _and_ last night. Why don't you come here? We had plenty left." _Please say yes, please say yes_

"I wouldn't want to impose…" I felt disappointment kicking in. "Are you sure it'd be ok?"

"I'm sure. Gran makes the best fried chicken around. You really shouldn't pass it up." I was bouncing.

"Well, how can a man say no to that? What's your address?" I could almost hear the grin I was willing to bet was on his face. I gave him the address and easy directions. I rushed to the living room to tell Gran he was stopping by, which she was fine with, just like I knew she would be.

I was fixing a plate for Alcide when I heard tires crunching on the driveway. I took a quick peek at myself in the microwave door, just to make sure I was presentable. A huge, goofy grin took over my face when I heard the knock on the back door.

"Come on in." I called out as I put the plate in the microwave to heat it up a little. I heard the door creak open and turned to see Alcide's large frame filling the space. I walked over to him. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." He pulled me into a hug and I felt… content… happy… safe. _Wow_ was all I could think.

I looked up at him and what I saw made me tingle. He was leaning towards me and his eyes seemed a little darker. I was pretty sure he was about to kiss me. Oh _boy_, did I ever want him to do just that, but then two things happened. His stomach picked that moment to growl… _loudly_, and the microwave dinged, letting me know his food was ready. I couldn't help giggling as Alcide chuckled. This one sounded much happier.

"Guess I'm hungrier than I thought. Thanks for having me."

"No problem. I'm glad you're here." I pointed to the chair where I'd set a glass of tea for him and walked over to the microwave to get his plate. When I turned, I didn't see him. I put the plate down and went to the living room. I heard him talking to Gran and hoped she wasn't too rough on him for interrupting her show.

"I just wanted to thank you for having me here, Adele." Wow… a man who knew his manners. A definite plus in my book.

"Oh my boy, you are welcome here anytime. Now scoot and enjoy your supper. My show is coming back on." I snickered. At least he'd gone in during a commercial. When Alcide turned towards me, he was smiling.

We went back to the kitchen, where he washed his hands before sitting down and sniffing the food. I joined him at the table after pouring myself a glass of tea.

"This smells great, Sookie. I'm not sure I even remember the last time I had a home cooked meal." He dug in and we fell into easy conversation.

"So you got busy this afternoon, huh?"

"Yeah, one of the guys got real sick and had to take off. He was fine this morning, so we're not sure what's going on there. But things went a lot slower since we were down a man. I had been hoping to get off early enough to take you out." He was giving me a smile that was making my insides quiver… and definitely in a good way.

"Don't worry about that, Alcide. Things happen sometimes."

"With the way the evening has turned out… I'm not so upset about working late anymore. This food is phenomenal. You weren't kidding about your Gran's chicken and these beans are awesome."

"I'm glad things have worked out this way too. I'm glad you like the food. Gran will be glad there is another fan of my beans out there." I was so excited that he liked my beans. Having a man like Alcide tell you he liked your cooking had very different meanings from your Gran telling you.

"_**You**_ made these? Are you serious?"

"Yep. Gran taught me everything I know about cooking."

"Well, I'm impressed."

I knew I had a huge, cheesy grin on my face. I enjoyed cooking and found myself hoping I'd be able to do it for Alcide more often. After a few moments of silence, except for the appreciative noises coming from Alcide, I decided to find out more about him.

"So, I know you have a younger sister you're close to and you work at Herveaux & Son. Tell me more about you."

"Like what?" He managed to get out with his mouth full of food.

I lightly slapped his arm, "I don't even know your last name, Alcide. I'm sure there's a lot I still need to know about you." I giggled, but there was no mistaking the way he tensed up. This wasn't something he wanted to talk about, I just had no idea why.

He was quiet for longer than I was comfortable with, so I prodded. "Alcide?"

He swallowed the bite in his mouth and took a swallow of tea before he finally spoke. "I'm sorry, Sookie… I knew this was going to come up… I was just hoping for a little more time."

"More time? I don't understand."

He took a deep breath, "My name is Herveaux… I'm Alcide Herveaux." He seemed to cringe as he said it.

I wasn't getting why his name should be a big deal. "Ok… why would you need more time…" My eyes had to be huge when it hit me. "Herveaux… as in _Herveaux & Son_, Herveaux?"

He looked so sad. "I'm the 'Son' part of that title." He let out a deep sigh and looked defeated. I was apparently still missing something… something big.

"Ok… so you don't just _work_ there, huh?"

"Mostly, I do actually. I haven't gotten as involved with the business as my father would like me to. I prefer the manual labor side of things, so my father and I reached an agreement that will keep me in the field for at least a few more years."

I just nodded. I was really having trouble figuring out why this would be such an issue for him. So, I finally just asked. "I'm sorry, Alcide, but I must be missing something. Why do you think it matters that you're a Herveaux?"

He sighed. "Honestly, I hope it doesn't, Sookie. It's just everytime I've tried to have…this," he waved his hand between us, "that's what it all boiled down to for them."

I thought I was starting to get the picture, but I wanted to be sure. I reached across the table, taking his large hand in mine. "I'm trying to understand the problem. Would you explain it to me?"

"That's one thing I liked about you right away. You didn't know who I was, or have any preconceived notions about me." He took a deep breath as he rubbed circles on my hand with his thumb. I think it was soothing to him and I didn't mind.

"Sookie, being a Herveaux means I've got money. I'm not talking billionaire or anything, but you could say I'm very comfortable. In Shreveport, it seems everyone knows who I am and all they see are dollar signs. I've tried a couple of relationships, but both times it turned out that all they were after was the name and the money. They didn't care about getting to know me or anything. Sure, they faked it pretty good for a while, but it never lasted very long. They both tried to trap me by getting pregnant too. I was always adamant about using a condom, so they cheated. One lied about being pregnant to trap me, but the other actually got pregnant. Thank God the timing was so off. I was out of town and couldn't have possibly been the father. We did DNA tests just to be sure though. When it was proven I wasn't the father, she went ballistic. That was about a year ago." He sighed again, then drank some tea.

"Wow. I'm so sorry you've been through all of that, Alcide. I wasn't even thinking along those lines. I'm glad I didn't know anything about you because it makes you feel better." I paused and gave his hand a squeeze. "I want to let you know that I don't care about money. I've never had it, so it's not something I automatically jump to when I meet somebody. If I like you, it's because of YOU… not what you have or don't have."

He looked… relieved.

"I have a confession to make, Sookie. "

"Ok."

"Because of my past experiences, I'm not usually near as forward as I've been with you. I saw you earlier in the week… at the library. I was there going over some paperwork and I saw you."

I thought back, trying to recall when he was talking about. I went to the library regularly. Then, it hit me. "When I helped Mrs. Fortenberry to her car?"

"I guess so. You were in your Merlotte's uniform and I think you were afraid you were going to be late for work, but you still helped her. Very few people would've done that. I knew then that I wanted to know you. I asked around and found out where Merlotte's was and talked the guys into stopping after work last night." He had a sheepish grin now.

"Well, that sure explains a lot." I couldn't help but giggle. Alcide looked confused.

"Explains a lot?"

"Yeah, I thought it was weird how the guys sitting with you kept giving you these funny looks all night, especially when I was around. I guess they knew why you wanted to go there, huh?"

He laughed now. "Busted. Yeah, they knew. I coulda choked Steve for coming onto you like he did. He was giving me the hardest time about you."

I laughed with him. "I hope he's not usually as bad with the lines as he was with me."

"He is actually… it's really sad to watch sometimes. He thinks he's quite the ladies man, but he strikes out a lot more than he scores."

I laughed a little more, but then got serious. "Alcide, thank you for explaining your past experiences to me. I can understand why you had reservations about me knowing your last name now. But seriously, I don't care if you're a millionaire, or as blue collar as they come and barely making ends meet. I'm interested in your time, not your money. You spending time with me means more to me than any amount of money."

He smiled at me – a genuine smile. "I think I believe you, Sookie." He pulled my hand a little, leading me to get up and move closer to him. He pulled me down, till I found myself in his lap. I could've cared less that he still smelled sweaty from work.

"Thank you for understanding." He leaned in and pecked my cheek. I felt the spot he kissed tingle and then more tingles spread through my body. When we looked at each other, I saw a look of want in his eyes that I'd never seen directed at me before. I wondered if I had the same look in my eyes for him, cause I sure was feeling things I hadn't felt before. We leaned towards each other, and just as our lips were about to meet…

"I hope you had enough to eat, Alcide." Gran was heading to the kitchen.

We both laughed a little and I got off his lap as Gran entered the room. "I can't remember the last time I had food that good, Adele. Thanks again for having me." Alcide leaned back in the chair with his glass of tea as I cleaned up.

Gran sat down at the table with Alcide. "I'm very glad you enjoyed it. I hope we'll be seeing you around here a lot more." Gran never did mince words. She got straight to the point. I couldn't help but blush as I turned to see Alcide grinning at me.

"I hope to be around here a lot more too, Adele." He winked at me and I couldn't suppress a grin.

Gran was smiling as she looked at the two of us. "Well, that's good to hear. Now, if you two don't mind, I'm going to say an early good night. I'm looking forward to reading more of my book." Gran got up and reached over to get her book off the counter. She liked to read 'hot books' as she called them. I just shook my head and smiled at her.

"Good night, Adele. I hope you sleep well." Alcide smiled at her.

"Good night, Gran. Sweet dreams." I hugged her as she headed for the hall.

Once she had left the room, I turned back to Alcide. He had finished his tea and had gotten up to put the glass in the sink. He was leaning against the counter, looking especially good. I felt tingles spreading through my body again as he looked at me.

Alcide broke the silence between us. "I should probably be heading out soon." He looked a little sad as he said it.

I wasn't ready for him to leave yet. I wanted more time with him. "Would you like to sit on the porch for a bit before you leave?"

I saw his big smile again. "I'd like that." He held his hand out for me and I took it, leading him to the front porch.

We walked out on the porch and Alcide took a deep breath. "I love the country. Always have. The air is fresher out here than in the city."

I smiled at him as he settled himself against the rail. I wanted to move closer to him in the worst way, but was nervous. I was losing the battle with my nerves as a matter of fact. It always made me quiet. I hated this about me. I had no experience with men and always got very nervous. I'd done really well with Alcide so far, but I knew we were _really_ alone now and my nerves were taking over. Alcide seemed to notice something was up.

"You ok, Sookie?"

I just nodded, but he didn't buy it. He took my hand again and pulled me closer, until I was standing between his long legs. I was so nervous, I couldn't look at him. He placed a finger under my chin and pulled my face up gently, until I was looking at him. "What is it, Sookie?"

"N..Nothing."

"Bullshit."

I gasped. He just smiled. "I might not know you very well yet, but I know something's going on inside that pretty head of yours. Talk to me."

I took a deep breath. I couldn't explain it, but I felt like it was ok to talk to Alcide… to let him in. "I'm just nervous."

He had his hands on either side of my waist. "Nervous about what? Me?"

This was so hard for me to get out. So I went back to our conversation from earlier. "You remember telling me that you've only tried a couple of relationships?" He nodded. "Well, I've never tried to have a relationship before." There, I'd gotten it out.

He looked shocked. "Wait… never?" I shook my head. "How is that even possible?"

"I've gone on a date here and there, but it never worked out." Boy, was that an understatement.

His look softened. "That's nothing to be ashamed of, Sookie." I think he just figured out what I was really telling him. "To be honest, I'm really glad it hasn't worked out for you. Means I have a chance." He was being so sweet to me.

"I'd say you have a really good chance, Alcide." It was out of my mouth before I could stop myself and I blushed. Alcide chuckled and kissed my forehead.

"I'm very glad of that." He whispered huskily. The look he was giving me was making me melt in a serious way. I leaned against him as he wrapped one arm around me, stroking my cheek gently with his other hand.

"Alc…" He stopped my train of thought by bringing his lips to mine. It started out very soft and gentle, but it didn't take long for me to feel him tightening his grip on me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as I felt his tongue moving softly against my lips. I moaned softly as I parted my lips, letting him in. Our tongues moved against each other, tasting each other, and I was in heaven. We finally parted when we had to breathe. I was panting and was glad he was too. I didn't have anything to really compare it to, but DAMN was he a good kisser.

He pulled me closer against him and we just held each other for a moment. It felt so good in his arms. Finally, once our breathing had calmed down again, Alcide kissed my head and I looked up at him. "I really don't want to, but I should be going."

I nodded. "I don't want you to go either, but I understand. It's been a long day for you." I smiled at him.

"I want to see you again… very soon." He chuckled a little.

"I have to work tomorrow, the afternoon/evening shift again. Maybe Monday?"

He nodded. "Definitely, and sooner if I can swing it." He winked at me again. I just loved it when he did that.

We held hands as we walked around to his truck. He took me in his arms one more time and laid another kiss on me that made my toes curl it was so good. We hugged each other tightly, then he kissed my nose before saying good night and that he would call me.

I must have floated back in the house after watching him leave. I was almost in a trance as I got myself ready for bed, and couldn't get the thought of Alcide out of my head, or the feel of his kisses off my lips as I drifted off to sleep.

The next few weeks went pretty much the same as usual, except I was seeing a lot more of Mr. Alcide Herveaux. If I had to work, he would stop in for dinner before heading home, and if I was off, he would come by the house for some home cooking. We had managed a couple of honest to goodness dates, which were wonderful. We would also talk on the phone until way to late most nights. Things were going great with us and I was beginning to think that I actually had a boyfriend.

Gran really liked Alcide too. She liked how he treated me most of all. I had told her about our conversation about his name and what it all meant and she told me that he was still a person, same as me. The amount of money he had or didn't have shouldn't make a difference. She told me that she thought he was a hard worker and she was honestly glad that he could take care of me if things continued to progress well. I was trying not to think that far ahead, but honestly, who doesn't let the thoughts slip in from time to time. I was so very happy. Gran did ask me if I was going to tell him about me, and I knew she meant my telepathy. I knew I needed to, but I was so scared he would freak out over it and leave. She said she didn't think he would and that I needed to be honest with him. I knew she was right.

One morning I got up and saw that Gran had a bag packed.

"Morning, Gran. Where are you heading off to?"

"Oh, a few of us are taking the bus for a little site seeing. I'll be back in two nights."

I heard a car horn at that moment and saw Gran's friends were already there to get her. I hugged her and told her to have a good time. She said she would call me once she checked in so I'd have a number for her, just in case. As the car pulled out of the driveway, I had a great idea. I knew it was finally a chance for Alcide and I to get some time totally alone. I had a big grin on my face as I started making plans. I even decided that it would be nice to sit on the porch under the full moon and tell him I was falling for him. I couldn't wait to tell him my plans.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm SOO sorry this has taken so freaking long! My muse packed up and left me; real life has been insane; etc. But I'm hoping I can get back on track with this one now. I have to thank InLovewithEric, MellyKen, and APearle for reading this one for me. Y'all are the best! **

**Let me know what you think. :)**

Chapter 4:

I wandered back in the house and flopped down on the couch.

This day had certainly gone from awesome to all kinds of screwed up.

I found myself getting more pissed -and hurt- the more I thought about the events of the day…

I'd showered quickly after Gran left on her trip and was heading out the door, with my travel coffee mug in hand, before I knew it. I was a woman on a mission. And that mission was to have a truly memorable weekend all alone with my wonderful -and seriously hot- boyfriend. My mind was buzzing with possible plans that would make this weekend special for us.

I'd decided to grill tonight since Alcide loves meat and potatoes. I had planned for steaks, baked potatoes, salad, yeast rolls, and I was going all out with my fantabulous grilled shrimp. I rushed through the grocery store as quickly as I could and unloaded everything even faster. I made huge turkey bacon ranch sandwiches to surprise Alcide with and packed some chips and drinks before I was running back out the door. I wanted to catch him before he left the site for lunch.

On the way to the site, I got a little nervous. I'd never shown up at his job before, but I didn't think he would mind… at least I hoped he wouldn't. Things had been going great between us over the last few weeks. As I was waiting at a red light, I realized that Alcide and I had been dating for almost two months now. And except for that one business trip he'd had to take about a month ago, we'd been together or at least talked to each other, pretty much every night. Wow, time really does fly when you're having fun. He was still relatively silent to me. I could pick up on his moods, but thoughts were a blank. That had started me thinking about the conversation I'd had with Gran about him and I knew I needed to tell him about my quirk. I wanted our relationship to be open and honest, so I knew I had to tell him. I was so scared that it would spook him too much and he'd leave. Well, I had decided that this weekend was it. I was going to tell him that I was falling in love with him and about my telepathy. If he was going to leave me over it, better to know now and hurt a little than to put it off longer and just hurt a whole lot more.

I pulled up to the trailer they were using as an office and saw Alcide talking to a couple of guys. A big smile spread across his face as he finished his conversation and made his way over to me. I rolled my window down and grinned at him.

"Well, this sure is a surprise." He leaned in and kissed me.

"I thought we could grab a decent lunch for a change." I pointed to the bag I had with me. "If you can get away, that is."

"Best offer I've had all day. Be right back, baby." He walked back over to let his men know he was taking his lunch break. I couldn't help but sigh as I watched him walk away. He had a seriously great ass. I still hadn't figured out how I'd gotten so lucky. A great guy who was absolutely drool worthy to boot? Never thought I'd find anyone, let alone anyone as great as Alcide Herveaux.

He was folding himself into my car just a few moments later. My car was really small, and I had to give Alcide credit for not complaining about it… not too much anyway. He grunted as he finally shut the door and shot me a glare when I couldn't contain my giggles.

"Seriously Sook, why can't you have a normal sized car? Next one definitely will be." I just ignored him, knowing it would be quite a while before I'd be getting another car.

We went to a pretty secluded spot I knew in the park. I enjoyed going there when I wanted some alone time. I'd decided that I wanted to go ahead and surprise Alcide with our weekend rather than wait for tonight. We sat down after he spread out the large blanket I'd brought. I unpacked lunch and shivered when I heard the groan that came out of his mouth after tasting the sandwich. I couldn't help but wonder what else I could do to make him groan like that. Ok, mind out of the gutter… we needed to talk first.

"So… guess what Gran did today?" I figured I'd just jump right into this conversation.

"Hmmm?" He had his mouth full, but at least raised his eyebrows to let me know he was listening to me as he savored lunch. It felt so good to know he liked my cooking… even though it was just a sandwich right now.

"She decided to go on a little trip with some of her DGD friends… out of town…" Alcide just looked at me with a blank expression, so I finished my big news. "All weekend." I was practically bouncing and missed that his expression hadn't changed at first. What happened next really shook me though.

'_Oh shit… how am I going to get out of this?' _Since I'd been looking right at him, waiting on his reaction to my news, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he hadn't said that out loud.

Oh shit was right.

I must've had a really weird look on my face because Alcide freaked a little.

"Sook… I… shit, I… um… Sookie, are you ok?"

I didn't know what to react to first. I'd heard a thought from him… what the hell did that mean? Was I going to start hearing him now? Why did it take so long to hear him? I could feel his emotions pushing in on me pretty hard… he was worried, extremely nervous, and guilty. Then I remembered what he had thought. _'Oh shit… how am I going to get out of this?' _ Why did he want to 'get out of' anything? Had I really misread everything with him so badly?

I looked down at my sandwich… I'd completely lost my appetite. I was trying to figure out what to do when I felt Alcide take my hand in his. I looked at him and realized he had been trying to get my attention for a while by this point. I still didn't know how to react, so decided I was just gonna have to wing it, cause I had to do something.

"It's ok. I can tell you must already have plans. I just thought… well, it doesn't matter." I couldn't help hanging my head a little. I was still reeling from hearing him, then trying to deal with what I'd actually heard.

He squeezed my hand tighter as he lifted my chin so I was looking at him. "It always matters to me what you think… _You_ matter to me, Sookie… very much." I couldn't help but scoff at him.

"But you _do_ have other plans… don't you? Plans you didn't bother telling me about. Were you going to tell me if Gran hadn't gone out of town, leaving me to make plans of my own for us? I mean I _was_ working this weekend. And before you try to cover this up, if it was business like last month, you would've already told me." I was getting mad now.

'_Shit, shit, SHIT… how do I handle this? FUCK!'_ Yep, still heard the thoughts scrambling around in his head. Not good.

"Sookie…" He let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped. "Ok, yes… I have plans. I'm really sorry. I had no idea your Gran was going to go out of town." _"Why THIS weekend?'_ Great, more thoughts from him.

I just glared at him. I'm not one of those people who feel the need to control the people in their lives. I don't have to know every little thing my boyfriend does. But with all the time we've been spending together, you'd think he would've mentioned having plans to me. Every other weekend I work, he drops in for meals, we talk on the phone, etc. There was something fishy about all of this. But I knew if I didn't get away from him soon, I would start crying and I didn't want him to see that. I'm one of those people who cry when they get really angry. I wasn't necessarily angry at Alcide… well, I was… but I knew I was more disappointed than angry. This was the perfect opportunity for us to spend the weekend together and it was ruined now. Yes, Alcide had his own place in Shreveport, but I felt weird telling Gran I was going to spend the night with him. That's why we hadn't done that already.

I started packing up our trash, and my barely touched food. "Well, I guess I'll just call Sam and tell him I can work the weekend after all." I stood up and headed for the car. I needed space and quick. I was really freaked out about hearing him and I needed to process that as well as get over my anger/disappointment.

He called after me, but when I didn't stop or turn around, he ran to catch up to me. I was putting the bag in the car by then. "Sookie, please don't be mad. I'm _really _sorry about this."

I turned on him. "So what are these all important plans that you didn't mention to me anyway?" I crossed my arms over my chest and glared some more.

His eyes widened and he stammered a bit. Finally, he looked at me with sadness in his eyes. He knew this was going to be bad. "I can't tell you. I want to… so bad… I just… can't. Not yet. But baby, I _promise_ I will tell you… everything… really soon." He was pleading with me. I don't know why, but I didn't think he was seeing somebody else. This felt like it was much, MUCH bigger than something like that. So I decided to just let him off the hook for now. He had to get back to work and I needed to think.

I sighed. "Let's just go, Alcide. You need to get back to work." I turned and got in the car. Once he was in, I took him back to work. We were silent the whole way. I was glad it wasn't far. I pulled in front of his office trailer and was glad we seemed to be alone. I turned to him.

"Sookie, please don't be mad." He asked again.

"Alcide, you need to get back in there. We'll talk later ok?"

"We will?" He sounded like he wasn't so sure about that.

"Yes, we will. It's obvious there are some things you need to tell me and to be honest with you, I'd planned on talking to you about some stuff as well. But we'll do it later."

"Sook…" We weren't as alone as we'd seemed.

"Hey Alc, bout time you got back man." One of his co-workers called from the office. Alcide hung his head a little. I needed to get away from here and even though he may not have wanted me to go, he needed me to.

"Call me when you can, ok?" I couldn't help the disappointment that was very obvious in my voice. Alcide pulled me into his arms and I felt the tears that had been threatening for a while now, make their way down my cheeks. I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed. He squeezed me back and whispered against my ear.

"I'm so sorry, Sookie. I promise I will explain everything to you. Just please tell me I haven't lost you." I looked at him and saw the terrified look in his eyes.

"Let's talk about everything and see where we go from there. But right now… no, you haven't lost me." He let out a sigh of relief.

"Sook, can we talk tomorrow? I mean first thing… as early as possible? I want to just go to your house right now, but I have important stuff this afternoon that I _HAVE_ to be here for."

I nodded. "Sure… I'll fix breakfast. Nine ok with you?"

"I'll be there."

'_I can't lose her… I gotta tell her... god I hope she understands…'_ Crap… still hearing him.

Alcide got out of the car after kissing me and promising me we would get this straightened out. He also made sure I knew there wasn't anyone else, that it was nothing like that at all. I couldn't help letting out my own sigh of relief. My gut had told me it wasn't that, but it was nice to have it confirmed. I drove home and was getting a little pissed off.

I stayed on the couch for a while after I'd gone back over everything that had happened. I began to realize I wasn't really pissed or even hurt like I'd started to feel. I was just really disappointed. Alcide is my first attempt at a relationship and I'd gotten very excited about having the weekend with him. I figured it was ok for me to be disappointed, but I didn't need to take it out on Alcide. Whatever was going on with him didn't seem to be something he was altogether happy about. _'Maybe it's something that is out of his hands…'_ I sighed. I knew I wasn't going to get any answers anytime soon, so I decided I was too down in the dumps to work. I knew my tips would be lousy, and I wouldn't be able to keep my mind focused like I would need to anyway. So I didn't call anyone to change my schedule back. I spent the rest of the night trying to figure out why I was catching thoughts from Alcide now, when I hadn't before. The only thing I could come up with was his emotions were really strong when I heard him. He was extremely nervous and it was directly about me. I decided to talk to Gran about it when she got back.

I didn't sleep great, but I did finally drift off around 2 am.

Thankfully, I'd remembered to set my alarm. I tried to get up around seven so I'd have time to cook breakfast before Alcide arrived. My snooze button had other ideas though. I finally drug myself out of bed at 7:45. I decided to keep it simple since I was short on time and just fixed biscuits and gravy. I was pulling the biscuits out of the oven when I heard the crunch of tires on the driveway. Before I could get the coffee poured, Alcide was knocking on the back door.

"Come on in. I'm just finishing up here."

I'd just put the coffee pot back in its place when I felt two large arms wrap around me.

"I missed you, Sookie." I turned to look at him. He looked really tired, but also… determined? I'd already decided that I wouldn't see if I could still hear him until we talked. I didn't need to deal with everything at one time.

"I missed you too." He cupped my face with his hands before softly kissing me. I returned the kiss, of course. I knew I was in love with this man and I wanted to work all of this out. I pulled back a little and smiled. He looked as nervous as I felt, but he did give me a small smile in return. "Hungry?"

He chuckled softly, "You know me… always." He winked at me and my smile grew. I handed him our plates while I grabbed our coffee and motioned for him to follow me. I'd decided that we should be comfortable for this chat, so I'd set us up in the living room. Once we were settled, I figured I'd start. _'Time to drop my bomb.'_

"Alcide, I know there's a lot that we both need to get out this morning." He nodded. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go first." He motioned for me to go ahead.

I took a deep breath. "Alcide, I know we've talked a little about my dating history… or lack thereof, but I need to explain the biggest reason for it. Yes, having Jason Stackhouse – Star Quarterback, as a big brother didn't help matters, but even he isn't the biggest reason. I'm not sure if I've come right out and said this, but I am a virgin." I paused.

"I know, Sookie." I just looked at him for a moment before simply nodding. I did wonder how he knew for sure, but it really wasn't important in that moment. I'd begun wringing my napkin in my hands without even realizing it. Alcide took both of my hands in his and tried to soothe me.

"Hey… whatever it is, it's ok, Baby. I'm not going anywhere."

"I hope not…" I muttered softly. He heard me anyway.

"Sook, look at me." I looked into his beautiful green eyes that were full of so many emotions. "I'm. Not. Going. Anywhere. You can tell me anything."

"I do trust you, Alcide. That's why I'm ready to share this with you. It's just really hard… so few people really know… I'm afraid." I was trying so hard not to cry, but I could feel the tears welling up.

"What are you afraid of, Baby?" He looked so concerned. _'Please don't let him leave me.'_ I prayed as I took another deep breath.

"The reason I'm still a virgin with relatively no dating history to speak of is… I'm a telepath." I whispered the last part.

He looked at me for a moment. "You're a what? A telepath?"

I nodded as two tears trickled down my cheeks. "Yes, I'm a telepath. I hear people's thoughts." I hung my head, just knowing he was about to run. He rose from his seat and a sob escaped before I could stop it. Then I felt two warm hands cup my face and gently lift until I was looking into the green eyes I loved so much.

"Baby, don't cry." He wiped my tears with his thumbs. I couldn't help myself as I fell into his arms and hugged him as tight as I could.

"You didn't leave…" I couldn't believe it.

"I told you I wasn't going anywhere." He grinned at me once he'd lifted me and gone back to his seat on the couch, holding me securely in his lap. "But can I ask a question?" I nodded.

"Can you hear me?"

I shook my head. "For the most part, no. That's one reason I liked you so much in the beginning."

"For the most part? Does that mean you have heard me though?"

I nodded a little. "I heard you yesterday. I don't know why it didn't happen before then. I could pick up on your moods… what you were feeling… if I was really trying, but there were no thoughts until yesterday. You were worried about how to handle this weekend."

He nodded and seemed to be thinking this over.

"Who else knows, Sookie?"

I was a little surprised by this question. "Well, Gran and Jason… Sam, Lafayette, Tara… oh, and my cousin, Hadley, may know. She at least knows there's something 'funny' about me. That's all who know for sure. Everybody else in town considers me 'Crazy Sookie'. Some wonder about me; some think I'm psychic; others ignore it unless they need me to check someone for them. But they all pretty much agree I'm crazy… at least in their heads they do."

"Well, you're definitely not crazy, so I better not hear that from you again." He grinned at me again, but then he got serious. "Thank you for sharing this with me, Sookie. I know how hard it was for you to do. What made you do it?"

Ok… next bombshell coming up. "Well, I knew if I wanted us to have an open, honest relationship I would have to tell you sooner rather than later. Once I realized I…" I paused, gathering all the courage I had. "Once I realized I love you, I knew it was time."

Alcide looked gob smacked. I almost giggled, but my nerves were too shot. I was about to move off his lap because he was quiet for so long, when he tightened his grip on my waist and pulled me to him with his other hand on the back of my neck. He laid the mother of all kisses on me. I was actually a little dizzy when we stopped. He pressed his forehead against mine as we both tried to calm our panting. Then he looked into my eyes.

"Sookie… I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm so fucking glad I did it. I love you too, Baby."

I couldn't believe it… he loved me back! I hugged him again and he held on to me just as tight.

"Sookie… there's something I need to tell you… about me…"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **** I'm so sorry this has taken so much longer than I planned. It was gearing up to be a really long chapter, so I decided to cut it off where I did so I could post something for everyone. I hope you like it. Good news though… I have pretty much completed Chapter 6 and have started on 7, so updates will hopefully come quicker now that I'm off for the summer. We'll see how the kids go along with my plan though. Lol. I do promise it will NOT be as long as the wait was for this one.**

**This one hasn't been betaed because I wanted to get it posted as soon as possible. All mistakes are mine.**

**Let me know what you think. :)  
**

Chapter 5:

"Sookie… there's something I need to tell you… about me…"

I leaned away from Alcide a little so I could look at him. Things had gone really well with my bombs. I was crossing my fingers – and anything else I could cross – that his would go just as well. I nodded to let him know I was ready to listen to him.

He took a deep breath before he began. "I've never shared this with anyone, Sookie. The only people who know what I'm about to tell you are my family and my… well, my 'community'… so to speak."

I nodded again. "I trusted you with my biggest secret, Alcide. You can trust me with yours. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's keep a secret… I know everybody's." I winked at him and he chuckled a little. I could see him relax a little. He had been that tense.

"Ok. Actually, knowing you're a telepath makes this a little easier for me. You told me that you usually can't hear my thoughts, right?" I nodded.

"Have you come across anyone else that's like me – hard to hear I mean?"

"Well, I generally try to stay out of folks' heads. Working at Merlotte's has helped me to build my 'shields', that's what I call them anyway. I do slip sometimes, especially if I've had to keep them up for a long time, like a long shift. Then there are times I do check things out – you know, strangers and such." He nodded. "I have noticed that Sam is hard for me to read, but not as hard as you. I think that is because he's always wanting me to read him. I know he likes me – more than he should to be honest – but he doesn't want to come right out and say it too often. He would rather me 'hear' it on my own for some reason. I try really hard to block him out, but he seems to be almost forcing his thoughts at me sometimes and they get through." I sighed. "Sorry I kinda went off on a tangent there."

He just hugged me to him a little tighter, so I snuggled closer to him. It was very nice. "It's ok. I think I might know why it's harder for you to read me than it is Sam then." He took another deep breath – trying to build up his courage I think. "Sookie… I'm… I'm a… I'm a werewolf."

I was stunned. I hadn't been expecting that.

"You mean you… what?... like in the movies? A werewolf?" Yeah, I wasn't making much sense, but I didn't think anyone could blame me at that moment in time.

"Well, not like the wolfman you see in the movies. I actually turn into a wolf… the animal."

My mind was full of so many questions, but I absolutely believed him. Hello – telepath! Why not werewolves too?

"So you change at the full moon?"

He nodded. "Yes, that's why I couldn't come over last night. It was the first night of the full moon. I don't have a choice on the first night. I can fight it off the other nights if I have to, but I usually don't. It's really hard to fight it off. I don't shift as long the other nights though. "

"Ok. So what do you do when you shift?"

"Usually I meet up with my pack and we hunt together."

"You're… pack? That's the 'community' you were talking about a little bit ago?" He nodded, but he looked surprised. "What?" I asked.

"I'm floored here. You really seem to be handling this ok."

I took his hand in mine. "Alcide, I just told you I'm a telepath… I can read people's thoughts. If a telepath is real, why couldn't a werewolf be real too? I have a ton of questions, but I really kinda want to see you do it. I mean can you only do it during the full moon?"

He smiled at me. "No, I can shift any time I want or need to. I just _have_ to during the full moon… first night anyway. I've only tried to fight the shift once. That's why I know how hard it is to fight it. I'll be right back… " He lifted me off his lap and placed me on the couch beside him then got up.

"Wait! Do you become like a wild animal, or are you still… Alcide… when you shift?"

He leaned over and kissed my nose. "I'm still Alcide, baby. I won't hurt you." I let out a small sigh of relief. He stood back up and started towards the hallway.

"Where are you going?"

He had started unbuttoning his shirt, so when he turned back to me I got a peek of his amazing chest… oh boy.

"It's easier to take my clothes off before I shift. Otherwise I have to shift back then gather them up. I didn't think now was the time to throw being naked in the picture." He winked at me and I blushed.

While I waited for Alcide to return, I found I wasn't really scared. This was Alcide and I trusted him completely. My mind wandered to the glimpse of his chest I'd gotten and I started down a completely different track. I knew I was ready to give myself to Alcide. I loved him and knowing he loved me too made the decision easy. I smiled as I thought about what the rest of the day could bring. Then I heard a noise I'd never heard before. It was kinda… gloopy. Then I saw a stunning gray and white wolf walk into the room.

I gasped and instinctively drew my legs up under me. The wolf walked slowly to me, stopping right in front of me. I wasn't sure what to do. Then the wolf laid its head on my knees and raised its eyes up towards mine. They were the same green as Alcide's and I relaxed.

"Alcide?" I slowly raised my hand towards the wolf and he raised his head. I giggled when he started licking my hand then I pet him a little. "You're a pretty awesome wolf, but can I have my boyfriend back now?"

He made a yipping noise then bounded back up the hall. A few minutes later, Alcide came back in the room in just his pants, carrying his shirt. He also had a huge grin on his face. He grabbed me in a big bear hug as soon as he sat down beside me.

"What's this for?" I asked him as I snuggled closer to him.

"You didn't run away when I told you what I am, and…"

"You didn't run from me either, ya know." I interrupted.

"And I never will. But you also called me your boyfriend." I started grinning too.

We stayed where we were for a while. I think we both enjoyed the snuggling. I couldn't quiet my mind though. I had so many questions. I looked up at Alcide. He looked so happy but I could tell he was tired. I jerked up and covered my mouth as I gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Alcide."

He looked confused then. "What on earth are you sorry for, Sookie?"

"You've been up all night, haven't you? You must be exhausted and I've kept you up all this time…"

He put his finger over my mouth to shush me and he chuckled at me. "Yes, I've been up all night and yes, I am tired. But working things out with you was too important. I wasn't waiting any later than I had to. He tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

I smiled and stood up, pulling his hand with me. "Well, I need to take good care of my _boyfriend_. Come on." He stood up and followed me.

"Where are we going?" He was grinning at me.

"If I'm totally honest, I didn't sleep much last night either. So I think both of us could use a nap." I pulled him into my room.

"That sounds like a great plan to me. I'll be right back." He ducked into the bathroom.

I made myself comfortable. I was thinking about all the questions I had, but I knew we needed sleep. The questions would still be there when we woke up. I felt the bed give as Alcide got under the covers and spooned behind me. I felt so safe and loved as he wrapped his big arms around me.

"I love you, Sookie."

"I love you too, Alcide."

We were both out like lights.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

I stretched my arms and legs as I began waking up. I was a little startled when I felt a tightening around my waist, but then grinned when I remembered Alcide was with me. I turned so I could look at him. I still hadn't figured how I go so lucky to have found him. I leaned up and kissed him softly before turning to get up. Mother Nature was screaming at me. I was almost out of the bed when I was pulled back against Alcide's body.

"Where do you think you're going?" Alcide grumbled in my ear.

I couldn't help but giggle… it tickled! "I've got to get up before I flood the bed, baby."

He grumbled some more but let me go. I hurried to the bathroom and took care of things. When I went back in my room, the sight I saw nearly took my breath away. Alcide was leaning against my headboard, shirtless, and giving me a big grin. All I could think was '_He's all mine'_.

I crawled back under the covers he was holding up for me and snuggled close against him. He put his arms around me and kissed my head. We just lay in each other's arms for a few minutes. Then I started wondering…

"What time is it?"

He looked around till he found my alarm clock. "Almost six."

"Wow! We must've been worn out… we missed lunch."

"I didn't miss it." Awww… my sweet, corny boyfriend…

I looked up to pick on him about being so corny, but as soon as our eyes met, so did our lips. I've always enjoyed kissing Alcide, but something was different this time. I couldn't stop the moan as I felt his tongue slide into my mouth and begin rubbing against mine. I tightened my arms around his neck as he rolled on top of me, resting his jean clad body between my legs. When we had to break for oxygen, he just moved to my neck… nibbling, kissing, sucking… driving me insane with want. He began grinding his erection against me and I was done for.

"Fuck… I want you, Sookie." He growled.

I was grinding back against him by this point. "Oh god… yes… want you so bad."

He pulled back and looked me in the eyes. "Are you sure, Sookie? Really sure? We can wai…" I shushed him with a soft kiss.

"I'm positive, Alcide. I love you. I want you to… make love to me." I blushed but forced myself to not turn away.

He smiled as he kissed me. "I love you too, Sookie." Then he began kissing my neck again. I ran my hands up and down his back, then on down to his fine ass. We were grinding against each other but I wanted more. I pulled him hard against me as he slid his tongue in my mouth. I moaned into his kiss as I felt something begin to coil inside me… I was about to come already.

He had moved back to my neck, where he bit gently, then began sucking hard as his hand slipped under my shirt and up to my breast. I arched into his hand as he rolled my hardened nipple between his fingers. He pulled my shirt up and growled when he revealed my breasts. "Beautiful…" He took one nipple in his mouth as he continued kneading the other breast, driving me crazy. I ran my hands around to the button on his jeans and began working on getting it open.

"SOOK!"

"Fuck!" I whisper-screamed as Alcide growled… angrily this time.

"SOOK!" My cock-blocking brother was at the base of the stairs now.

"Be there in a _minute_, Jason!" I think I growled a little that time. I looked over to Alcide to apologize. "I'm so sorry about this, baby. But he won't leave till he does whatever he's here to do." I was actually pouting.

He sighed and nodded. "Then let's get this over with… I'm nowhere near done with you yet." I felt a new wave of moisture soak my panties. Jason was going to be lucky if he survived this.

I made my way down the stairs to find my idiot brother. I'd thrown on a pair of pajama pants and tank top. Alcide said he'd be down in a minute. I found Jason with his ass sticking out of the fridge… figures. "What are you doing here, Jason?" I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the counter.

"Oh, hey Sook. What took you so long? He stood up and looked at me. "Boy, you look kinda messed up…" His eyes landed on my neck and narrowed. "Awww, come on, Sook! Gross!"

"What's 'gross', Jason?" I guessed Alcide had marked me with all the attention he'd been giving my neck earlier. Served Jason right for interrupting. I giggled when I saw Jason's eyes grow wide.

"Evening, Jason." Alcide walked right over to me and wrapped his arms around me as he slid in behind me. He'd left his shirt off.

"How am I supposed to concentrate now?" I whispered to him.

"Call it motivation." He whispered in my ear before kissing it. My attention was diverted back to Jason with a surprising comment.

"I thought y'all had split up. I came by to check on Sookie."

"What gave you the idea we'd split up, Jason?" I asked as I snuggled closer to Alcide.

"That's what Sam told me." he shrugged.

I was confused, but Alcide let out a low growl. "What did he say?" he asked Jason.

Jason had gotten himself a glass of tea and turned one of the chairs around to straddle as he answered. "I asked him where Sook was cause I thought she was working. He had this big cheesy grin on his face, which is just weird for Sam. He said she'd traded shifts but he'd heard y'all had split up. I got up to come check on her." He paused to drink some tea. "But I did hear him mutter to himself 'He'll never tell her.'" He glared at Alcide. "You hidin something from my sister?"

"Jason, stop that. I don't know what made Sam think we'd split up, but we most definitely haven't." I leaned back and kissed Alcide quickly. "In fact, Alcide is officially my boyfriend now." I giggled a little.

Alcide grinned and kissed my forehead, but I could tell there was something on his mind.

"What is he hidin though, Sook? Sam doesn't seem to think it's something he'll be honest with you about." Jason pressed.

"Jason Stackhouse! Since when do I let what Sam Merlotte thinks dictate my life? What goes on between me and Alcide is between _us_. I will tell you I trust him completely. He has been totally honest with me… just as I have been with him…" I gave Jason a long look.

He looked back at me for a moment before he got it. "You told him… everything?" I nodded. He looked at Alcide. "And you're still here… we've never told… outside family… except…" He was having trouble with this.

"I love her, Jason. I won't rat her out or anything. I'll protect her with all I am." He squeezed his arms a little tighter around me.

Jason looked from him to me with his eyebrows raised in question. "I love him too, Jason. We can trust him." He nodded and looked back to Alcide.

"If Sook says we can trust you, that's good enough for me. Take care of her. She's one in a million." I broke out of Alcide's arms and hugged my brother as Alcide answered him.

"That's my plan." Jason nodded and kissed my head.

"I'm happy for you, Sis." He smiled at me, but then looked confused. "But where the hell did Sam get the idea y'all split up?" I pulled away and went back to Alcide's welcoming arms.

"I have no idea. It doesn't make sense, but I intend to find out. I don't know about y'all, but I'm starving and don't feel much like cooking…" The grin on my face matched Jason's

"Great idea, Sook. I haven't eaten yet come to think of it."

Alcide joined in with a grin of his own. "We'll meet you there, Jason."

Jason had headed on over to Merlotte's but we had to make ourselves a bit more presentable. "Are you ok with this, Alcide?" He looked at me confused as he pulled his shirt over his head. "I mean I know you need to shift tonight…"

He cupped my face and silenced me with a kiss. "I'm fine baby. Last night was the big one. I'll go for a run after we get back from supper and be fine."

"Ok. Guess all this land will start being put to good use again." I giggled as he lifted me closer to his face.

"Definitely." He kissed me again and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Thankfully, both our stomachs interrupted – loudly. I'm not sure we'd have left otherwise.

Once we were in Alcide's truck, I asked. "I don't get how Sam figured we'd split. And what is he so sure you wouldn't tell me?"

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "That I'm a werewolf. That's what he's sure I won't tell you."

"How does Sam know you're a werewolf?"

Alcide took a deep breath. "I guess he didn't tell you. I was pretty sure he hadn't. Sam's a shifter. He can shift into any animal he wants."

My eyes bugged. "Shut the fuck up."

**AN: I loved that line in True Blood when Sookie discovered Sam was a shifter. Just couldn't help using it here. I'm so sorry it has taken me so very long to update this story. My real life has been absolutely insane. Things are calming down now and I've actually been on a bit of a roll with the writing. I have already started Chapter 7 and hope to get on a better schedule with updating. **

**I want to thank everyone who has favorited, followed, reviewed, and/or pmed. I am so very grateful and you got me writing again. I have said it before… I'm not abandoning this story. I WILL finish it. **

**Please let me know what you think! I can tell you that after the next chapter things are going to start to get very interesting… (hint – vampires!)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

"Sam's a… shifter? Are you serious?" I was floored.

"Yep, he is. I figured he hadn't told you. I also have a theory on where he got the idea we split." I just raised my eyebrows for him to continue. "I figure he shifted and was following you. He must've heard our conversation in the park and decided there was no way I'd come clean to you about being a werewolf."

"That son of a bitch! I trusted him. He knew my secret but couldn't do the same?" I was pissed… and a little hurt to be honest. I knew he got inappropriate with me sometimes, but I knew that was because he liked me so much. I always made it clear that he was a friend, nothing more. "Well, I think it's time he got it through his thick head that I'm yours. I'll never be his like he wants."

Alcide growled and looked at me with an almost feral look. Uh oh…

"What? Are you ok, baby?"

We had parked outside Merlotte's by that point. He got out of the truck and was opening my door before I knew it. I got out and he lifted me up. I instinctly wrapped my arms around his neck while he pulled my legs around his waist and then pushed me against the side of the building. He kissed me… hard. I returned it with all the passion I felt for him. We were both breathless when he pulled back enough to look in my eyes.

"Say it again." I was utterly confused. "Say you're mine." I smiled and tightened my arms around him.

"I'm all yours, Alcide Herveaux." I felt a tingling sensation all over my body and Alcide shuddered a little before he leaned his forehead against mine, taking a few deep breaths. What the hell was that? I was obviously missing something.

"Baby… are you ok?" He looked at me and nodded. He put me down, took my hand, and walked around to the back of his truck, letting the tailgate down. He lifted me up onto it then leaned beside me.

"I know you don't understand but that is huge, Sookie. Saying you're mine… it means everything in my world."

"Ok… what exactly does it mean?"

"It means you're mine… literally in some cases. No one can touch you, even a hug, without my permission. It means you are under my protection and care and possibly the protection of my pack. As far as the supernatural world is concerned, it means you're my mate. This is bigger than human marriage in many ways. That's why I reacted so strongly. No one has ever claimed to be mine."

I gulped. Seems I had a lot to learn about his world. "Ok… I guess we have a lot to talk about, huh?" He nodded.

"Now that you know this much, we don't have to let anyone know you said it. If you want to wait… think about it…" I shushed him with my finger on his lips.

"Knowing this doesn't change the fact I meant it, Alcide. I do want to understand more of your world and how I can fit into it, but I meant it with my whole heart. I know it's fast, but it feels right to me. One question now though…" he nodded for me to ask. "Can we tell Gran about all of this?" He stiffened. "I know this is a huge deal, but she will not tell anyone. She can keep a secret from the best of them." I tapped my head. "I just… I tell her everything."

Alcide thought about it for a bit. I stayed quiet because I knew how big this was for him. I was asking him to trust… that's not always easy to do. Finally, he moved in front of me, caging me in his arms, "Ok Sookie. We can tell her. I understand what she means to you and I can understand you wanting her to know about this. We'll talk to her when she gets back tomorrow, ok?" I threw my arms around his neck and squeezed as hard as I could.

"Thank you, Alcide. This means so much to me." He nodded.

"One thing I want you to know now though. I won't go all 'caveman' or anything most of the time. I know you have your brother and your friends. I don't mind you hugging them at all." I giggled, but immediately stopped when I saw the serious expression on his face. "I will use this with regards to Sam though. With the way he's acted around you just since I've known you… I don't want him touching you… at all." I nodded. I could understand that. It would drive me crazy if I saw someone throwing themselves at Alcide. "He knows exactly what it means if you tell him you're mine."

I pushed on him a little to back up and jumped off the tailgate, then pulled him with me. "Good to know. I trust you, Alcide. I know you won't get crazy with this, and I do want to talk with you a lot more about all of this later, but let's go get some things straight with Mr. Merlotte right now." I smirked.

"Lead the way, baby." Alcide smirked too.

It was a typical evening at Merlotte's. Jason had already grabbed us a booth, so I slid in across from him and Alcide sat beside me.

"What took y'all so long?" Jason asked, then looked up and added, "Nevermind… I really don't wanna know." He shuddered.

I reached across the table and popped his arm. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Jason Stackhouse! We were just talking for a bit outside before we came in. Alcide grinned and stretched his arm across the back of our seat and I slid closer to him. Arlene came to take our orders.

"Hey y'all. Sookie, I thought you had big plans since you traded shifts with Dawn. You _never_ ask to trade." She winked at me.

"Well, we got hungry and it was too late for me to bother cooking, so here we are." I giggled as I snuggled against Alcide. He squeezed me to him. We'd both seen Sam glaring at us from the bar. Not that I wouldn't have snuggled with him anyway, just taking advantage of the situation.

She smiled at us then began taking our orders. _'So happy she found somebody to make her happy. Took her long enough… guess with everyone around here thinking she's crazy and all… wonder if she's lost her v-card yet…'_ I threw my shields up as fast as I could. Arlene walked towards the bar to place our drink orders before heading to the kitchen. Jason was talking away about something but I was distracted. I was still processing everything Alcide had told me earlier. I really was ok with being 'his', even with what it meant in his world. I was just surprised by it. Gran had always raised me to be so independent. Sounds like that would have to change some based on what Alcide told me. I know he doesn't want to change me, but wouldn't I have to a little? I guess everyone does when they get into a relationship. I was starting to wish Gran was already back so I could talk to her about all of this. I knew she would accept Alcide just as I had. She's just like that.

'_You ok, baby?'_ I looked up at Alcide to answer him, but saw he was still looking at Jason, apparently listening to him going on about improvements he wants to make to his house. Was I hearing his thoughts again? He looked down at me and I heard him again. _'You're being awfully quiet.'_ I gasped and he squeezed me a little. _'Calm down baby, I remembered you said you heard me when I was focusing on you, so I thought I'd see if this would work. Guess it does.'_ I nodded. Thankfully, Jason excused himself to go to the restroom.

Alcide leaned down and kissed my neck before whispering, "Is that all you heard from me?" I nodded. "I need to whisper because supe hearing is real good. I don't want Sam hearing this. I tried thinking stuff right at you, then I thought some other stuff unrelated to you at all. Then I directed thoughts to you again."

I snuggled against his neck so I could whisper to him. "All I heard was when you seemed to be talking directly to me." He nodded.

"Ok, we'll talk more about this when it's just us. This could be a really good thing though, Sookie." I nodded and he kissed me softly before Jason returned and Arlene brought our food. I reached for my drink and noticed I didn't have one.

"Hey Arlene, where's our drinks?" Her mouth gaped open.

"Oh, I'm so sorry y'all! Sam said he'd bring 'em over. He must've gotten busy." I looked over to the bar and noticed him cleaning the bar, but he didn't look busy at all. "I'll go get them right now."

"Don't worry about it, Arlene. I know you're busy. I'll go get them. I need to talk to Sam anyway." She nodded and hurried over to another table. I nudged Alcide and he got up, holding his hand out for mine. I took it and he helped me out of the booth. Then we both made our way over to the bar, as Jason was making his way back to us. He just followed us to the bar.

"You forget something, Sam?" I accused him.

He looked at me then down to where my hand was connected to Alcide's. He actually looked pissed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sookie." Ok, here we go…

"Uh, our drinks… Arlene said you were going to bring them to us, but we still don't have them."

"Oh yeah, well… I got busy." He smirked. I saw red.

"Let's go to your office, Sam."

"I'm busy right now, Sookie."

"No you aren't… you're being a jerk. Let's go to your office, _now_." He looked like he was going to smart off again, but Alcide let out a growl and Jason cracked his knuckles. Jeez… men. Sam huffed and called for Terry to cover the bar. On our way back, I asked Arlene if she'd box our food up, that we were going to take it home with us after all. She agreed and went back to her tables.

I turned to Jason. "Let me and Alcide talk to Sam alone, Jason." He got mad.

"No way, Sook. I wanna know who he thinks he is making up crap about you." I sighed. I knew Jason couldn't be part of this conversation.

"And I'll fill you in later at the house. Please… just take our food and wait for us there ok." I knew he didn't like it, but he looked up at Alcide then agreed. I guess he figured I had Alcide so I was ok.

When we entered Sam's office he was sitting with his feet propped up on his desk. I stood in front of his desk as Alcide shut the door. "What is your problem, Sam?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sookie."

"Why on earth did you tell my brother that Alcide and I had split up?"

"I had heard something like that. I figured that's why you wanted to trade shifts and be off tonight. I guess you're just stupid if you're still with him."

"Back off, Merlotte." Alcide was getting pissed now.

"Make me, Herveaux. You know you aren't good enough for her. You know she'll never fit in _your_ world…" he glanced at me before adding "you know, with the money and society and all." I rolled my eyes.

Alcide growled loudly and I knew I needed to diffuse the situation some. "Shut up, Sam. For your information, I know all about Alcide's _world_." I air-quoted 'world'. He just looked at me.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Sook. You'll never fit in with him."

"You don't know anything, Sam. I fit perfectly with him. I'm _his_." Sam's face paled. He glared at Alcide.

"You don't know what you're saying, Cher. You don't…" I cut him off. I'd had enough of his shit.

"I do know _exactly_ what I'm saying Sam. I know what it means. Unlike you, Alcide knows how to be honest. I will say it again. I. Am. Alcide's."

Sam growled and jumped out of his chair, coming around his desk while the air seemed to electrify. Uh oh… the full moon. Alcide growled too and I could tell we were about to have a very big - and probably furry - problem. I have no idea how to explain what happened next.

I jumped in between the two growling men. I put my hands up, one on Alcide's chest and the other on Sam's. I heard myself roar "NO" as the tingle I'd felt earlier jolted through my body, much stronger this time, and light shot out of my hands. It was a golden light that went into Alcide while a pinkish one went into Sam. Sam fell to his knees while Alcide gasped. I looked down at Sam and without even thinking I said, "I have made it known to you that I belong to Alcide Herveaux. I am his true mate. I will let it be known now that Alcide Herveaux is my _chosen _mate." I leaned closer to Sam's face and continued as I looked into his eyes. "I am his as HE IS MINE. No one will harm him." The lights stopped and the room began to spin for me. I felt myself sinking just as Alcide's arms wrapped around me, cradling me to his chest; then everything went black.

I felt someone petting my head… running their hand over my hair over and over. I realized I was lying against Alcide because of his smell. I loved his smell. It was a nice cologne and he didn't overkill with it, but it was _his_ smell underneath that I loved so much. He smelled like outdoors on a cool fall evening. I snuggled against him, trying to get closer.

"Sookie?" He sounded upset. I opened my eyes and blinked a little as they adjusted. We were in Sam's office… on the old, worn couch.

"What happened?" I was a little confused.

"I was going to ask you that question. What do you remember?" He asked as he hugged me tight.

I thought for a minute. We had come in here to confront Sam… men got angry… about to shift… lights from my hands… oh my god. I looked up at Alcide with wide eyes.

"What's wrong with me? What _am_ I?" I whispered, panic beginning to set in.

Alcide hugged me even tighter and cupped my face with his free hand. "There's nothing wrong with you, you hear me? NOTHING." I felt myself tearing up. "Oh baby, don't. We'll figure this out. If you're ok to move, I think we need to get back to your house. I'd like to call my dad and have him meet us there. He may be able to help us figure all this out. Is that ok with you?" I just nodded, tears still threatening to spill.

Alcide got up then took my hands, pulling me up. He wrapped one arm around me as we left Sam's office. That reminded me…

"Where's Sam?"

"He went back out to the bar. You can call and let him know you're ok later if you want."

I nodded. "How long was I out?"

"Not long, five… ten minutes maybe but it felt like forever." He sighed. "After everything… we didn't want to chance calling an ambulance." I nodded again. He continued, "I'm going to get my dad to call a doctor friend of his, ok? Hopefully she can come to your place and check you out."

I started to protest that I was fine, but he shushed me. "Sookie, she's a supe doctor. You shot lights from your hands then passed out. I don't trust taking you to a human doctor and we… I need to be sure you really are ok." His voice cracked.

I knew I'd feel the same if it were him, so I nodded. We left out the back of Merlotte's. We didn't want to go through the crowd. He got me settled in his truck and was on his phone as soon as he shut my door. He paused at the back of the truck, talking into his phone, then nodded and continued around to the driver's side.

"Ok Dad, we'll see you in a bit. Thanks." He hung up and explained that his dad was calling the doctor now and they would both meet us at my house. I nodded… seemed that's all I really could do at the moment. Then I remembered something.

"Alcide, Jason is there with our supper. He won't leave. We're gonna have to tell him about this and let him stay. He can be trusted. There's nobody I trust more than Gran and Jason… and now you." Alcide nodded and gave me a small grin. He was still worried about me.

"So what happened after I blacked out?"

"I caught you. Sam was speechless. Whatever that light you hit him with did… he changed. It's like he forgot why we were there. There was no more anger coming from him. He looked at you, then me and said 'Take good care of her. She's real special. I'll let y'all have the office so nobody knows anything's wrong.' and he left us." Alcide shrugged.

"The lights were different colors… what did it do to you? Did I hurt you?" I began to panic again.

"No, it didn't hurt at all, baby. It felt like it went straight into my heart, and then expanded through my whole body. I could feel how much you love me and it felt like your love connected with mine for you and… tied us together somehow. I don't know… just the best way I can describe it."

I just nodded… again. I couldn't wrap my head around any of this. I was really wishing Gran was home now. We pulled off Hummingbird Road and up the driveway. I gasped when I saw Gran sitting on the porch with Jason. I didn't know why she was home early and I didn't care. I jumped out of the truck before Alcide could even shut it off. I ran to the porch and collapsed in front of Gran, laying my head in her lap, and sobbed. I was so scared of what was happening to me and I needed her.

"Sookie! What on earth is wrong, darling?"

I couldn't speak yet, so Alcide explained that we needed to go inside to talk. He also told them his father and a doctor friend were on their way. He lifted me easily and I curled into his chest, trying to get a hold of myself. Once inside, we went to the living room. Alcide sat on one end of the couch, placing me in his lap. Gran sat down next to us while Jason kneeled in front of us. Gran took my hand in hers.

"What happened tonight, Sookie?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, Gran. Alcide, Jason, and I went to Merlotte's for supper and to set Sam straight on a few things. It was getting heated in his office and he was about to start a fight with Alcide." I took a deep breath. Gran just kept rubbing my hand. "I don't know what made me do it, but I jumped between them, putting my hands up. I said something, but it was almost like someone else was talking, just in my voice. I'm not even sure what I said. But then these lights shot out of my hands, hitting Sam and Alcide in their chests. I blacked out after that." I felt Alcide hug me tighter to him.

Jason's eyes widened in disbelief, but Gran's reaction was very unexpected. She was still calmly rubbing my hand and my shields were shot because of all the stress.

'_No… it's not time… too soon…'_

I sniffed as I looked at her. "It's not time for what, Gran? What's too soon?" She looked shocked for a moment. "I'm sorry, Gran. My shields are fried tonight and with you holding my hand… I just couldn't stop it." She cut her eyes over to Alcide then back to me, her eyebrows raised in question. I nodded. "Yes 'mam, he knows." Alcide was rubbing my back as he looked at Gran and nodded too.

"Sookie and I had a long talk this morning and did a little more talking this evening. Obviously, there's a lot more we need to talk about, but we love each other very much and felt safe sharing our secrets with each other. I will protect her with all I am, Adele."

Gran leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Alcide. It makes me feel better knowing Sookie has you in her life now. I've been so worried about her… both of you." She added as she looked at Jason. Jason kissed her cheek as he left the room for a moment.

Alcide continued. "Adele… Sookie and I decided this evening to tell you my secret. She says I can trust you." He took a deep breath. "I feel like I need to before my dad and the doctor get here."

Gran nodded as I kissed his cheek.

"I'm a werewolf."

Gran shocked us again.

"I know. I've always known there was something different about you."

We were floored. I finally found my voice after a moment… or two.

"You _knew_ werewolves are real?!"

Gran smirked… wow. "I know quite a bit about the supernatural world, Sookie. I've known you and probably Jason would be a part of that world too. If I'm correct," she looked at Alcide, "you're doctor friend is Amy Ludwig?" He nodded, dumbfounded.

She nodded. "She delivered these two and Hadley." _Huh?!_

Jason came back in at that moment. "What'd I miss?"

There was a knock at the door and Gran got up to answer it.

"You missed a lot, Jason. I thought I had more time before we had to have this conversation." She opened the door, letting in a diminutive woman followed by an older version of Alcide.

"I think you're out of time, Addy." the woman said, looking over at me as I tried to get even closer to Alcide.

**A/N: I updated this chapter after I posted chapter 8... there were some discrepancies I had to straighten out.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I am so floored that "Howl at the Moon" was nominated for a Fangreaders Award this year! Thank you SOOO MUCH to everyone who nominated it and to all who vote for it. **

**Here is the link to the ballot: : /eSurv. org?u=Fangies2013 **

**Please go by and place your votes. There are LOTS of amazing stories nominated. **

**Here's the next chapter… I hope everyone likes it. **

**Chapter 8:**

_Addy?_

Gran sighed as she shut the door. "I think you're right, Amy. Hello, Jackson."

Alcide and I looked at each other, still in shock over everything going on around us. I mouthed to him _'Gran knows your father?'_

He shrugged and thought to me _'Apparently. Something big is going on, baby.'_

I nodded and hugged him so I could whisper "I'm scared."

He hugged me tight and thought _'We'll deal with this together, whatever it is. I love you.'_

I whispered "I love you too" as Jason moved to the couch beside us.

He leaned over and whispered "What the _FUCK_ is going on here, guys?"

"We have no clue, Jason, but whatever it is, it's big." I answered. He nodded and was about to say something else when Gran interrupted.

"Here they are, Amy, Jackson; my grandchildren, Sookie and Jason." Our guests walked in the room with Gran and looked at us, nodding and smiling. We smiled back. "And you know Alcide, of course."

"Hey Dad, Doc, thanks for coming." Alcide said.

"No problem, son. This is very important. I'm guessing you three have quite a few questions." He smiled and we nodded.

"We'll get to that in a bit, Jackson. I need to examine these kids first." The doctor snapped as she put what looked like a carpet bag on the coffee table. "I'll start with you, Sookie, and you're fine where you are. Jason, I need you to move." He stood and moved to lean in the doorway while the doctor climbed on the couch. Standing beside Alcide and I, she closed her eyes and ran her hands all around me. She wasn't actually touching me though. Then she did the same thing to Alcide. She finished up by placing one hand over my heart and her other over Alcide's at the same time.

Her eyes popped open. "Well, this is surprising but not totally unexpected…"

"What do you mean, Amy? I thought we had until their 30th birthdays. That's two years for Jason, five for Sookie…" Gran trailed off.

"Yes, that is true… in most cases. What we didn't count on was her finding her mate so soon. Finding Alcide… loving him and accepting his love… it's sped things up for Sookie." The doc looked back at us. "Tell me exactly what happened tonight."

Alcide and I told her everything that had happened. She thought for a moment. "Tell me what her exact words were, Alcide. Right before she blacked out."

"Ok, she was talking to Sam when she said _'I have made it known to you that I belong to Alcide Herveaux. I am his true mate. I will let it be known now that Alcide Herveaux is my __**chosen **__mate. I am his as HE IS MINE. No one will harm him.'"_

A large, and somewhat creepy, smile spread across the doctor's face. "That's it! She not only made it clear to the shifter that she belongs to Alcide, she claimed him as her chosen mate as well. They're tied together now. Once they consummate things, they will be bound together. It will be unbreakable."

"_Huh?"_

Jackson spoke up. "Wait a minute, Doctor. How can that be possible? She's not full blood…

The doctor cut him off. "She has the spark and you damn well know it. Blood doesn't matter when it comes to the spark."

"But Alcide… the pack… "

"Dad! We've had this talk. I don't care whether my kids can shift or not. I love Sookie and that's not going to change!" Alcide had tensed up and was so angry. I leaned over and kissed his cheek softly.

"I love you too." I whispered to him.

Gran spoke up this time. "Jackson Herveaux! We've discussed this as well. You know there's a very good possibility their children will shift." He took a deep breath and nodded.

"I know, Adele. It's just not guaranteed… I don't want him shunned by the pack."

"He won't be. I believe these two were meant to find each other. I know everything will work out just fine."

Jackson sighed. "I hope you're right, Adele."

"I agree with Addy, Jackson. It will be fine." The doctor chimed in.

My mind was racing. I had so many questions and I had no idea where to start. Alcide was still very tense. He'd even started trembling a bit.

"Are you ok, baby?" He turned to look at me and I saw his eyes had changed. Uh oh.

"Mr. Herveaux, I think Alcide needs you." His father looked over at us and jumped up.

"Come on, son. We need to run." I scooted off Alcide's lap and his father helped him up. "We'll be back in an hour or so. Everyone nodded, except Jason, and they left.

Jason asked "Is he ok, Sook?"

I nodded. It was time to fill my brother in. "He's a werewolf and it's still the full moon."

Jason was speechless… for a moment anyway. "So… he has to change into a wolfman on the full moon? Just like the movies?"

"Well, kinda. But he's not a wolfman when he shifts, he's a wolf… the animal." Jason nodded but I could tell he was still trying to wrap his head around everything. "You're taking this amazingly well. I'm surprised to be honest."

"Well, I figure if you can do… what you do… why not werewolves, ya know?" I nodded this time and reached out to squeeze his hand. "Thanks, Jason."

Gran sat down beside me and the doctor sat in one of the chairs. "Will you let us tell you everything before you start with the many questions I know you both have?"

Jason and I both nodded. Gran sighed. "I loved my husband very much. He was a wonderful man and loved me more than anything. He would've given me anything I wanted, but he couldn't give me what I wanted most in this world." She took a deep breath before continuing.

"He couldn't give me a child. We both wanted children so badly, but he just couldn't father one. One day while I was hanging laundry to dry, my mind was wandering and I was thinking about how badly I wanted a baby. I began crying as I realized I would never be a mother.

Then a stranger walked up. He was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen. His name was Fintan. He asked if he could have a glass of water and I agreed. We talked for a long time that day. He told me that he could give me what my heart desired most. He came back many times and I finally gave in. Your biological grandfather is Fintan Brigant… and he was half fairy."

Jason and I were shocked to say the least. Gran had _cheated_ on her husband? Oh my god… and what's a fairy?

"Gran… a fairy?" Thank god for Jason sometimes.

"Yes, Jason. He was half fairy… turned out I am a quarter fairy myself. That's why he was drawn to me and I couldn't fight the pull I felt to him." She sighed again. I knew this had to be very difficult for her. "I was honest with your grandfather. In time he accepted what had happened and loved your father and aunt as his own.

Fintan came several times and told both of us all about the fae. The last time I saw him was not long before your parents died. He told me that you have the spark and Jason does as well but his isn't as strong as yours, Sookie. He warned us about many things, including that there were fae who would kill anyone with fae blood here on earth. He wanted to bind your powers, but I wouldn't allow it. I was afraid you would need them to protect yourselves one day.

He said when you turned 30, or found your mates, you would come into your full powers, but that you may exhibit some powers before then to a lesser degree." She turned to me. "This is what is happening to you now, Sookie." She took my hand in hers but all I could do was sit there with my mouth hanging open.

"Gran… what powers are we gonna have?" Jason's voice cracked, showing how nervous he was.

"I think I can help you there, Jason." the doctor spoke up. "Nearest I can tell, you will have the ability to shift into any animal you wish. That ability comes from your mother's side of the family actually. Turns out she was part fae as well. Her line has the shifting ability. You should also be able to transport, or 'pop' as most call it, and conjure things you need. As for you, Sookie," she turned to look at me. I was actually glad she was so direct. "You will be able to transport and conjure as well, your telepathy will get stronger, and you may be able to shift as well. I'm not positive about that at this time, but we know you can pass the ability down to any children you may have."

You could've heard a pin drop. After a few moments of stunned silence, I found my voice. "That's what Gran meant when she was telling Mr. Herveaux… babies…" I was fanning my hands between me and where Alcide had been sitting. Thankfully, the doctor seemed to understand what I was getting at. She answered me anyway.

"Yes, Sookie. There is a very good chance that any children you and Alcide have will be able to shift. Whether they would be werewolf or not would remain to be seen. They could be true shifters… able to shift to any animal like Jason will be able to."

I didn't know what else to say… I mean I just couldn't wrap my head around any of this. I started trembling. I needed Alcide to hold me in his arms. I needed to feel safe.

Jason spoke up. "So this won't happen to me for two more years?" He'd slid his arm around my shoulders. He wasn't Alcide, but it did help some.

"No… unless you meet your mate sooner." Jason nodded but I felt him let out a sigh of relief. He had time to get used to all of this before it happened to him. Odds weren't too great for Jason Stackhouse to find a mate anytime soon. Me on the other hand… and the doctor wasn't done with me yet either.

"Sookie, you will also be able to wield your light. You'll be able to defend yourself and possibly others; heal yourself and others; and you may start having visions."

I was done. I couldn't deal with all of this… I _**really**_ needed Alcide. I stood and began pacing.

"Gran… how could you not tell us about this?" Jason asked. He was having a hard time too.

"I had hoped I wouldn't have to tell you at all. But it became more and more obvious as Sookie got older that there was something _more_ to her. Then I began noticing how good you were with animals. You always have been. I've never seen an animal uncomfortable around you, Jason. Remember that time we went to the zoo and we heard the lions purring?" Jason and I both nodded. That had been pretty cool. "I heard the zookeeper saying they'd never heard them do that while the crowds were there. I looked at you. You were looking the male in the eye… smiling… Anyway, I called Amy and she came by that night while you two were sleeping. She told me everything she just told you."

She turned to me as Jason began pacing. "Sookie, when I met Alcide and saw the effect he had on you, I called Amy again. When I told her his name, she said she knew him and his family and we needed to talk. We've talked with Jackson a couple of times, but she arranged for me to get away this weekend so we could discuss everything without having to worry about anyone overhearing. When Alcide called his father, she popped me here then she and Jackson to Shreveport so they could drive here…"

The door burst open and before I could register what was going on I was being pulled into Alcide's arms.

"Are you ok, baby? I was running with dad over by that old run down estate next door when I felt this overwhelming _**need**_ to get to you. What happened?"

I snuggled closer to him and laid my head on his chest… his bare chest… oh my. I glanced down and was relieved to see he had managed to get some jeans on at least.

"I'm as good as can be expected I guess. I think I'm on overload with all this information though." I sighed as he resumed our original position on the couch. The doctor addressed Alcide.

"Explain what you felt."

"We were running but then I felt this tug on my… heart? Anyway, it wasn't bad so we kept going. A little while later I felt it again but much stronger and I had only one thought - _'Get to Sookie'_. So I turned back, leaving dad behind. We had just caught a strange whiff of something, so he stayed to investigate."

The doctor's eyes swung to meet mine. "What have you been thinking and feeling through all of this?"

Well, it's been a lot to take in for sure. When Gran first explained about Fintan and all, I wanted Alcide for support. Then you started in about all these powers and stuff and I think I reached my limit. I wasn't handling it well and felt like I really needed Alcide."

She just smirked at us as Alcide rubbed my back. "My, my, you are going to be very powerful, Sookie. We are going to have to keep our eyes on you."

"What do you mean?"

"You _**called**_ your mate to you in your time of need. That's the tug then overwhelming need Alcide felt to get back to you. That is a very powerful connection you two have. I'd bet that once you are bound to each other, he will be able to reach out to you the same way.

Ok, wow. I'd definitely reached my limit for one night. I needed time to process all of this and fill Alcide in on everything we had been told while he was gone. But Jason wasn't quite through yet.

"Hey, I gotta question. If fairies and werewolves are real… what else is out there?"

"Funny you should ask that, Jason. One supernatural race is 'coming out' so to speak very soon actually. There will be a huge announcement this week.

"What are they?"

The front door was flung open again and Alcide's dad walked in. "We may have a problem." He looked at Alcide. "I tracked that scent to the old house next door. I know it's been abandoned for a few years, but probably not for long… and that could be very bad." He shook his head.

"What was it, dad?"

He took a deep breath and looked at Gran and the doctor as he answered.

"Vampire."

**A/N: ****I hope this chapter made sense… I've struggled with it. I know that lots of writers here have had Sookie and/or Jason have powers and such. No copying is intended. I just wanted them close and I also didn't like the panther attack storyline in the books. This is how I'm dealing with that aspect of things.**

**Things are about to really get going now. I need some reader input at this point though. I'm going to try to set up a poll on my wordpress page, but just in case I can't, I need you all to give me your thoughts on this. Back when I was still kicking the idea for this story around, I was advised to not have Eric in it at all since fans seem to always want him with Sookie. This is and will remain an Alcide/Sookie story, so what do you think - should we meet the Viking, knowing there will be no Eric/Sookie pairing? Let me know what you think of the chapter too.**


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